http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0908/US-response-to-9-11-contributed-to-causes-of-current-debt-crisis?cmpid=addthis_email#.TmkBI9SdqGw.email

US response to 9/11 contributed to causes of current debt crisis

The costs of military engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq account for well over one-quarter of the increase in US national debt since 2001. Financing wars and defense build-ups in this way is an historical aberration. Americans have typically paid for wars through higher taxes.

By Linda J. Bilmes / September 8, 2011
Cambridge, Mass.