…this is still a large amount of money, but it is modest — a modest fraction of our nation’s wealth — and it pales when compared to the cost of another terrorist attack on our people.

~ President George W. Bush, April 10, 2008.

“Some in Washington argue that the war costs too much money. There’s no doubt that the costs of this war have been high. But during other major conflicts in our history, the relative cost has been even higher. Think about the Cold War.

During the Truman and Eisenhower administrations, our defense budget rose as high as 13 percent of our total economy. Even during the Reagan administration, when our economy expanded significantly, the defense budget still accounted for about 6 percent of GDP. Our citizens recognized that the imperative of stopping Soviet expansion justified this expense.

Today, we face an enemy that is not only expansionist in its aims, but has actually attacked our homeland — and intends to do so again.

Yet our defense budget accounts for just over 4 percent of our economy — less than our commitment at any point during the four decades of the Cold War.

This is still a large amount of money, but it is modest — a modest fraction of our nation’s wealth — and it pales when compared to the cost of another terrorist attack on our people.”