Guests: Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes

H"The war on terror has cost America about $1.4 trillion. That includes the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, money for veterans, and other military expenditures. It does not include security within the USA. Under President Obama the war on terror has cost $569 billion, approximately 10% of the debt the President has run up. So when people say that America's debt is largely war-driven, the stats do not back that up. The important question is, has the war on terror been worth the price in blood and treasure? In the combined wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 6,596 Americans have been killed, and almost 50,000 wounded. Those casualty figures are nothing like the Vietnam war, but I believe most historians will look back at the Iraq war as being a mistake. We could have brought Saddam to his knees by blockading his country; we didn't have to invade it. Afghanistan is another matter. We had to remove the Taliban and we did. The problem is that Afghanistan's society is largely corrupt and the USA has not been able to effectively neutralize that corruption. So we're caught in a country that simply will not help itself in becoming a free state. President Obama has done a good job in neutralizing Al Qaeda, President Bush did a good job in hammering Al Qaeda right after the 9/11 attacks. Summing up, the war on terror had to be fought, we made a mistake in Iraq, but overall we have won the fight against terrorism. However, the conflict goes on and you know those savages want to hit us again."

Fox News analysts Alan Colmes and Monica Crowley also evaluated the costs and benefits of the war on terror. "We did a great job over the past four to eight years," Colmes said, "and, yet, the money that was spent in Iraq could have been spent for a lot of other things. The war on terror sacrificed our liberty for security." Crowley described it as a war of necessity. "We certainly have paid a steep price, but we had no choice. We were hit on 9/11, the war was brought to us, and Osama bin Laden had declared war on us years before." Colmes, a staunch opponent of water boarding, nevertheless endorsed President Obama's widespread use of drone attacks to kill suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and elsewhere." The Factor concluded, "Both Presidents Bush and Obama used their executive power fairly wisely."

Guests: Governor Sarah Palin

Radio talk show host Laura Ingraham has opined that Republicans should just fold their tent if they can't defeat Barack Obama. The Factor asked Sarah Palin whether she agrees with that analysis. "Absolutely," Palin declared. "She's articulating what so many common sense, fiscally conservative Americans are thinking. C'mon, Republicans, if you can't get the fire lit under this base, if you can't convince them about Barack Obama's lack of a plan to get us out of these economically woeful times, then we're in a world of hurt." Palin urged her fellow Republicans to take the offensive. "We're not explaining to the rest of America that you have a choice - you either get 'free stuff' or you get freedom, you can not have both. We need to get the message through that there is no such thing as a free lunch and we are an insolvent nation. Mitt Romney should be very aggressive in his attacks on Obama's dismal record."

Guests: George Stephanopoulos

After a Democratic convention that featured far-left speakers focused on birth control and abortion, The Factor asked ABC News' George Stephanopoulos to opine on the state of the Democratic Party. "There's a lot of rallying the base at a convention," Stephanopoulos said, "which is what a convention is for. There's no question that the issues of choice and women's rights energize the Democratic base." Stephanopoulos theorized that an over-emphasis on unfettered abortion could damage the party in November. "When that element of the Democratic Party takes over, it does have the possibility of hurting Democrats in the general election. Remember Bill Clinton's formulation that he believes in a woman's right to choose, but abortion should be 'safe, legal, and rare.' That is the position most Democrats and most Americans have. Support falls off when some common sense restrictions are not allowed."

Guests: John Stossel

Chicago public school teachers, among the highest paid in the nation, went out on strike Monday. Fox Business anchor John Stossel described the strikers and their union bosses as out of touch. "Like the other big unions," Stossel began, "they are clueless people who think they're entitled to a job. They average $75,000, which is more than nurses and architects. They work nine months a year, they don't want to be judged or rated, and they feel no one should ever fire them. I think the city has offered too much, Chicago is going broke!" Stossel affirmed, "I'm not anti-teacher, I'm anti-union. Let there be competition!"

Guests: Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl

A federal judge has ruled that a Massachusetts prisoner is entitled to a sex change operation that will cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. Legal analysts Kimberly Guilfoyle and Lis Wiehl came to radically different conclusions. "This is unbelievable," Guilfoyle said. "This guy is in prison for murdering his wife, but the judge is saying that the operation is 'medically necessary' and you can not deprive this individual from becoming a woman." Wiehl, however, sided with the judge. "This is not about fairness, it's about the Constitution that says you can not punish someone in a 'cruel and unusual' manner. This man tried to kill himself twice, tried to castrate himself, and the prison doctors say he has 'gender identification disorder' and needs this operation. He has a medical disease!" The Factor offered this pithy solution: "You just tell the guy, 'You walked in here a man and that's how you're going to stay!'"

Guests: Chuck Norris

Actor Chuck Norris has created a video in which he warns that "our country as we know it may be lost forever" if President Obama is reelected. "I grew up as a Democrat," Norris explained, "but the Democrats have gone further left and the Republicans have gone to where the Democrats were 40 years ago. When you drive around the country you see these stores that are closed because of what's going on with our economy and it tears my heart up. We have to get somebody in the White House who has the experience to turn this around and get these small companies going." Norris added that raising taxes on the wealthy won't do anything to help the country's economy. "If it would help I wouldn't mind it, but it won't help because the more money Congress gets, the more money it spends."

Dr. David Springer, Morton, IL: "So Sandra Fluke is horrified at the prospect of states mandating a harmless, painless sonogram before abortions are performed, but is fine with the complete destruction of a fetus."

John Ferrandino, El Combate, Puerto Rico: "You're way off, Bill. You are coming across as the extremist, not Sandra Fluke. Catholics like myself believe we should convince people not to abort, not force them to give birth."

Donald Benton, Aberdeen, MD: "Thanks for speaking for me on the abortion issue, Bill."

Tuesday's Tip A website called 180snacks.com offers snacks that manage to be healthy and tasty at the same time.