$87 Billion for Iraq sounds like a whole lot of money. To put it into perspective, I charted the estimated spending for the US government for 2003. Of note:

• This represents 3.8% of the total government expenditures, including debt repayment and Social Security
• Excluding debt and SS, this represents 6.3% of government expenditures
• As line items, only Debt Repayment, Dept. of Defense, Health and Human Services, and Social Security spend more
• If added to the Defense budget, it represents 20% increase in Defense expenditures

This last figure stands out. It falls in line with the stated agenda of the neocons 1992 Defense Planning Guidance to increase defense expenditures by 25% to support the unilaterial pax americana which they proposed.

27 Oct 2003: The &87 Billion Money Pit from MSNBC.com