Um ... about that $1.7 billion maximum ...

Ooooooh ... that's going to put a dent in the budget, isn't it?

Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard budget expert Linda Bilmes plan to present this week a paper estimating the cost of the Iraq War at between $1-2 trillion. This is far higher than earlier estimates of $100-200 billion.

No problem. Just cut back on, say, body armor for the troops. It'll all work out in the end.