Give the residents of CA, NY, TX, and FL their weight in silver

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've given the residents of California, New York, Texas, and Florida their weight in silver.

California, New York, Texas, and Florida are the four most populated states in America, with a total population of 98 million people.  If the average resident of these states weighs 150 lbs (lighter than the average American adult, but much heavier than most children), the total weight of these states' population is 14.7 billion pounds.

Silver is currently valued at $13.33 per ounce.  There are 14.6 troy ounces in a pound.  So buying the residents of these four states their weight in silver would cost $2.86 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War.

Image used under a Creative Commons License from RickyDavid.

Supply the British with tea for ten thousand years

For the price of the Iraq War, we could satisfy the British thirst for tea for the next ten thousand years.  

The British lead the world in per capita tea consumption, with the average Briton consuming 2.3 kilograms of tea per year, enough to make 766 cups.  Since there are nearly 60 million people in Britain, total British tea consumption runs to 140 million kg.

The global average wholesale price of tea is $1.95 per kg (link).   So satisfying British tea demand for the next ten thousand years would cost $2.7 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War.

Image used under a Creative Commons License from fisserman.

Trap Osama in Afghanistan with a giant wall of $100 bills

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've trapped Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan by surrounding the country with a 100-foot wall made entirely of hundred-dollar bills.

Afghanistan's borders are 5529 kilometers long. Since a hundred dollar bill (like all of today's paper money) is 156 mm long, it would take 35.4 million of them to surround Afghanistan. Since a hundred dollar bill is 2.61 inches tall, it would take 460 of them to make the wall 100 feet tall. This means it would take 16.3 billion bills to create a 100-foot wall around Afghanistan. Given the face value of each bill, surrounding Afghanistan and Osama in a giant wall of Benjamins would cost $1.63 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War.

Set up a century of Bush voters vs. Axis of Evil in World of Warcraft

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've let all 2004 Bush voters and everyone 15 or over in the 'Axis of Evil' play World of Warcraft together for a century.  

62,040,610 Americans voted for George W. Bush in 2004.  About 16.2 million residents of Iraq, 51.2 million residents of Iran, and 17.9 million residents of North Korea are at least 15 years old.  This adds up to 147.3 million players.  At $40 every two years for a startup or expansion disk and $15 per month, they could play for a century for $2.95 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War.

Paint the light side of the moon red

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've bought enough paint to paint the light side of the moon red.  

The moon has a surface area of 14,645,750 square miles.  It is in synchronous rotation with the Earth, meaning that the same half of it faces the Earth at all times.  Since a square mile is 27,878,400 square feet (that's 5280 feet squared)  the light side of the moon is 204 trillion square feet.  

LTX Bright Red Enamel paint, by Valspar, covers 400 square feet per gallon.  So we would need 510 billion gallons of it to cover the light side of the moon.  At the current price of $5.49 per gallon, we could paint the light side of the moon for $2.80 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War.

Image adapted under a Creative Commons License from jahdakinebrah.

Buy everyone in Akron properties like John McCain's nine houses

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've bought everybody in Akron, Ohio a group of nine properties worth as much as John McCain's nine houses and condominiums.

Akron, Ohio has 207,934 residents.  As of March 18, 2008, the McCain family owned nine dwellings -- two condos in Arizona, three beachfront condos in California, three ranches in Arizona, and a high-rise condo in Virginia.  (This does not include their rental property.  In addition, estimates of the total number of homes on their Arizona ranches run from four to six.) These nine properties were valued at a total of $13,123,269.  Buying everybody in Akron a series of properties worth this much money would cost $2.73 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War.

Give every human two iPhones

For the price of the Iraq War, we could give every human being two iPhones.  

There are 6.7 billion human beings.  The iPhone costs $199.  So giving every human being two iPhones would cost $2.67 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War. 

Image used under a Creative Commons License from vernhart.  See what else you could buy with the money we spent on the war! 

Desalinize enough seawater so all Africans could drink safely until 10,000 AD

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've desalinized enough seawater to provide all Africans with safe drinking water for the next 7,992 years.

Currently, the majority of the 922 million people in Africa do not have safe drinking water. Drinking 2 L of water per day is sufficient to replenish bodily fluids. So providing Africans with their annual intake of water would require 673 billion liters.

Singaporean desalinization technologies produce 1 cubic meter of fresh water for $0.49. At this price, supplying all Africans with clean drinking water until the year 10,000 AD would cost $2.63 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War.

Send all the Israelis and Palestinians to Harvard

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've sent every man, woman, and child living in Israel and Palestine to Harvard for four years.

There are 7.3 million people living in Israel, and 3.8 million people living in the Palestinian territories.  The total cost of attending Harvard for one year is $52,650.  That would put the cost of a four-year Harvard undergraduate degree for all Israelis and Palestinians at $2.3 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of over $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War.

One laptop per child, adult, sheep, pig, and cow

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've not only fully funded One Laptop Per Child, but expanded its mandate to cover all humans, sheep, pigs, and cows.

There are about six billion humans, 1 billion sheep, 1 billion pigs, and 1.3 billion cows on earth. OLPC is producing laptops at $175 each. Giving these 9.3 billion organisms their own laptops would cost 1.63 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War.

Image adapted under a Creative Commons License from hthg1983.

Fuel a motorbike to go as far as Iota Piscium

For the price of the Iraq War, we could fuel a motorbike to travel as far as Iota Piscium.  

Iota Piscium is a yellowish dwarf star within the constellation Pisces.  It's 45 light-years or 265 trillion miles from the Earth.  While slightly larger than the Sun, it's small enough that it may have Earth-like planets.  

The Honda Super Cub, the top-selling motorcycle in the world, gets 340 miles per gallon.  To travel 45 light-years, the Honda Super Cub would require 779 billion gallons of gas.  In Austin, Texas, gasoline currently costs $3.48 per gallon at the Chevron station at the intersection of Manchaca and Davis Street.  If all the fuel was purchased at these prices, fuel costs to go a distance as far as Iota Piscium would be $2.7 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of over $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War.

Image adapted under a Creative Commons License from joelf.  

Send everybody from South Ossetia into space

For the price of the Iraq War, we could've sent the entire population of South Ossetia into space.

South Ossetia is the region at the center of the conflict between Russia and Georgia. In 2000, it had 70,000 residents. Recently, many refugees have fled to North Ossetia or other places as a result of war.

Anousheh Ansari, the world's first female space tourist, paid $25 million to go to space for eight days. At that price, sending the entire population of South Ossetia into space would cost $1.75 trillion, which is less than Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes' estimate of over $3 trillion for the cost of the Iraq War.