With the conclusion of combat operations in Iraq, now seems like the perfect time to evaluate the costs of this controversial conflict that aided in catapulting the Democrats into the White House. While the reasons for the Iraq War remain unclear, its so-called financial burden on America is rather petty at best.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the total cost of the seven-year conflict is $709 billion. To everyday people, this seems to be a massive price tag for a comparatively unimportant war. Yet, a simple look at the deficits during these years shows how small this figure is relative to other government expenditures.

American Thinker’s Randall Hoven calculated the total deficits of the past seven years to be $4.73 trillion. Iraq only accounts for 15 percent of that and 8 percent of the federal debt. Even the $862-billion stimulus package, in its two-year lifespan, cost more than Iraq.

Despite the low costs of the war, President George W. Bush received massive criticicism from the media and Democrats regarding this “atrocity.” Senator John Kerry referred to the American troops as terrorists on CBS in 2005. And