There is a little-noted (in the general press) cost disparity in Middle Eastern warfare. From Caroline Alexander, “The Invisible War On The Brain,” National Geographic, February, 2015:
Complex as it may be, a blast event can be created for very little money and with minimal expertise. Explosively formed penetrators, a type of IED used to pierce armored vehicles, can be assembled for a few dollars. Disks that become bullet-shaped and molten hot as they fly through the air, these explosive projectiles can, in the words of one ordnance expert, cut through an armored care “like a hot butter knife.” In this way 25 dollars’ worth of technology can take out a million-dollar armored vehicle and kill or inflict grievous injury on the soldiers in it. The cost of their medical care—possibly over decades—will add significantly to the economic disparity. Given this cost-effectiveness, explosive force is likely to remain a signature weapon of modern warfare.
Of course, the people who decide to fight these wars bear neither the costs of carnage nor the financial costs. The National Geographic article is a searing study of just a small part of the former—brain injuries caused by explosive shock waves. It is highly recommended.
