Afghanistan is starting to look like a lost cause, but it could be worse. At least it cost less than Vietnam.

That's one of the few optimistic conclusions you can draw from a look into the fiscal records of America's wars [PDF]. War has become more expensive since the salad days of George Washington. Afghanistan costs as much as 134 American Revolutions (inflation-adjusted). Total post-9/11 war costs are $1.1 trillion -- more than any war except WW2.

But here's the thing, as NYT points out: war costs as a fraction of GDP have generally decreased. Therefore modern Americans are relatively indifferent to the military cash burn.