Honest accounting would be informative. Problem is, even this becomes another silly partisan issue. For example, the cost of the war is only the additional cost over and above the cost of maintaining a standing army. Typically, those using "cost" arguments gross up everything irrelevant to misrepresent the true facts. Of course, I agree with the sentiment that the true cost of war is measured in live, emotional trauma, and physical injuries. We might well spend more real dollars compensating the soldiers and their families rather than playing political football over measuring the cost of safety and stability at home and the protection of victims abroad.