As such, comparative advantage is an important concept in global trade, and it's the reason many countries concentrate on trying to produce certain goods or services more efficiently than other countries.
In March 2013, the total cost of the Iraq War to date was estimated at $1.7 trillion by the Watson Institute of International Studies at Brown University. Some argue that the total cost of the war to the U.S. economy will range from $3 trillion to $6 trillion, including interest rates, by 2053, as described in the Watson Institute's report.
Since 2003, the United States has spent $818 billion to fund the war in Iraq -- and counting. The initial fight in Iraq was meant to cost no more than $60 billion, a small fraction of the cost to date. Congress allocated $5.1 billion in 2015 for U.S. Operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This counter represtents costs incurred since June 2014.