Any commentary on the costs of this or any other war must begin by recognizing that paying more at the pump means nothing compared to the loss of thousands of lives, including civilian lives, that have occurred thus far. That is the true cost of war. And, in the case of this war, a war of choice we entered due to the terrible judgement of an unchecked president whose self-confidence is matched only by his ignorance of the history of the region, we can all be forgiven, once this is over, for asking the question, “for what?” Why did all those people have to die? What goal was served, beyond assuaging Trump’s whims?