Rather than ask “How much money will it cost to protect us from terrorism?”, instead ask the real question “What will it take to satiate Cheney’s friends?”.

For better understanding of the venal mind, I suggest this brief but instructive vignette, taken from “Key Largo”:
Someone asks Edward G. Robinson’s character “What is it you want?”.
He doesn’t answer, but Bogart anticipates his thought.
“He wants more”, to which Robinson responds “Yeah, that’s it – I want more”.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.