A Trillion Dollars Is A Lot Of Money

No matter if you're pro or anti war in Iraq and Afghanistan, you have to admit that a trillion dollars towards those war efforts seems like an exorbitant amount to spend. To me, it seems the funds could go to so many more worthwhile places. You could pay off a huge amount of Africa's debt and finally really begin to seriously bring aid to that continent. Or the money could go to help the American citizens with improvement in health care or education. I know there is an argument that this money is going into protection for the western world. But when you look at the military being a multi-billion dollar industry, you start getting a little suspicious of the real purpose behind it. I am not trying to diminish the efforts of the troops or even attack the American army. I do feel that people really need to start reanalyzing war and its true purpose. Is it really leading to a protection of our rights and allowing for a greater good for humanity? Has any war ever lead to this? I look at the history of war and I am hard pressed to find a single war that did not directly or indirectly lead to another war or conflict or crisis. Of course, I am open to any rebuttals.