Heh, I used some of Robb's work on this subject for a recent Master's paper.
The conservative estimate was $80B, with $500B being the highest figure.
I think he's on to something - the costs of waging high tech war, whether conventional or not, is becoming unsustainable even for us. If AQ or other terror groups continue to attack us with cost/benefit ratios similar to 9/11, then we are in trouble.
The good news is that these kinds of attacks are exceedingly rare, and there are very few that I can imagine that would have the same impact as the 9/11attacks.
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