How Much Has The Afghan War Cost America?

BBC: Afghanistan: Has the war cost America $500bn?

The US military has spent billions of dollars since 2001 fighting the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

But the end may finally be in sight for America's military presence in the country if the current talks taking place in Doha between the United States and the Taliban reach a successful conclusion.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said the war has "cost the United States government and society $500bn".

How accurate is this figure and how might it have been reached?

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WNU Editor: This was not a war of choice. So maybe the question should be .... should the U.S. have put a limit on their engagement in Afghanistan after the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies were driven out. In hindsight .... they should have left right after that happened instead of being engaged in nation building. That decision alone would not have cost the hundreds in billions that were eventually spent.

Report: U.S. Has Spent $2.8 Trillion On Fighting Terrorism And Wars Since 9/11

9/11 (Pinterest)

Wall Street Journal: U.S. Has Spent $2.8 Trillion on Terrorism Fight, Study Finds

Figure includes spending on wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria

WASHINGTON—The U.S. has spent as much as $2.8 trillion on the fight against terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a study published Wednesday.

The report from the Washington-based Stimson Center think tank said the figure included spending on the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, in addition to homeland-security efforts and overseas programs. Spending on counterterrorism reached a peak of $260 billion in 2008, accounting for more than a fifth of the government’s discretionary budget.

The report said the U.S. lacked a system for accounting for spending on counterterrorism and that loopholes have increasingly allowed billions to be spent on items that shouldn’t qualify for emergency funding.

“The Stimson study group found a variety of weaknesses in definitions, tracking, and consistencies that limit accuracy and contribute to a lack of transparency regarding the current data,” the report said. “These weaknesses make it difficult to evaluate whether CT spending has been effective.”

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WNU editor: The report is here .... Counterterrorism Spending: Protecting America while Promoting Efficiencies and Accountability (Stimson)

More News On The Stimson Report

Here’s how much the US has spent fighting terrorism since 9/11 -- Defense News
How Much Has the US Spent to Fight Terror? Here’s a Guess -- Defense One
New report finds US spent $2.8 trillion on counterterrorism since 9/11 -- The Hill
Since 2002, U.S. has spent $2.8 trillion to fight terrorism: Report -- Washington Times
What the War on Terror Has Cost Since 9/11 -- The Fiscal Times

The Afghan War Is Costing The U.S. $45 Billion Per Year

The Hill: Pentagon: War in Afghanistan will cost $45 billion in 2018

The Defense Department’s top Asia official on Tuesday told Senate lawmakers that the war in Afghanistan will cost $45 billion this year.

Randall Schriver, the assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, said the figure includes roughly $13 billion for U.S. forces in the country, $5 billion for Afghan forces, $780 million for economic aid and the rest for logistical support.

Schriver was speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in its first hearing on the war since President Trump announced a new Afghanistan strategy six months ago. The Pentagon official could not give a cost estimate for the new strategy.

Lawmakers were critical of the 2018 costs, and questioned whether the administration’s plan will force the Taliban to the table for peace talks and end the war, now in its 17th year.

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Update: Pentagon: Afghan war costing US $45 billion per year (AP)

WNU Editor: After 16 years of war these US Senators have cause .... U.S. senators concerned Trump's Afghanistan strategy will not succeed (Reuters)

A Yearly Breakdown On The Cost Of The U.S. Involvement In Afghanistan

Forbes: The Financial Cost Of U.S. Involvement In Afghanistan [Infographic]

After nearly 16 years of war in Afghanistan, President Donald Trump has announced his intention to increase the U.S. military presence in the country. The new strategy is set to extend the longest war in U.S. history and add billions more dollars to its cost. Trump argued for a military withdrawal before he took office but in his speech earlier this week, he had a rare change of heart. U.S. reinforcements could start arriving in Afghanistan within days, bolstering the 8,400 troops already on the ground there. According to website "The Balance" which has been keeping track of the war's economic impact, Afghanistan has cost the U.S. over a trillion dollars since the Bush administration launched its military intervention in late 2001.

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WNU Editor: With more U.S. troops slated to be deployed to Afghanistan .... these numbers are going to go up.

The Wars In Iraq And Afghanistan Have Cost The U.S. $6 Trillion

Linda J. Bilmes, RCD: Iraq and Afghanistan: The U.S. $6T Bill for America's Longest War Is Unpaid

On Memorial Day, we pay respects to the fallen from past wars – including the more than one million American soldiers killed in the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam.

Yet the nation’s longest and most expensive war is the one that is still going on. In addition to nearly 7,000 troops killed, the 16-year conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan will cost an estimated US$6 trillion due to its prolonged length, rapidly increasing veterans health care and disability costs and interest on war borrowing. On this Memorial Day, we should begin to confront the staggering cost and the challenge of paying for this war.

The enormous figure reflects not just the cost of fighting – like guns, trucks and fuel – but also the long-term cost of providing medical care and disability compensation for decades beyond the end of the conflict. Consider the fact that benefits for World War I veterans didn’t peak until 1969. For World War II veterans, the peak came in 1986. Payments for Vietnam-era vets are still climbing.

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WNU Editor: Sobering numbers. You can look at the current costs of these wars here.

Report: The U.S. Has Spent About $4.79 Trillion Fighting Wars From 2001 To 2016

Next Big Future: Cost of US wars from 2001 to 2016 is about $4.79 trillion

As of August 2016, the US has already appropriated, spent, or taken on obligations to spend more than $3.6 trillion in current dollars on the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria and on Homeland Security (2001 through fiscal year 2016). To this total should be added the approximately $65 billion in dedicated war spending the Department of Defense and State Department have requested for the next fiscal year, 2017, along with an additional nearly $32 billion requested for the Department of Homeland Security in 2017, and estimated spending on veterans in future years. When those are included, the total US budgetary cost of the wars reaches $4.79 trillion.

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Update: The Pentagon Must Now Reveal the True Cost of War to All Americans (Eric Pianin, Fiscal Times)

WNU Editor: The report on how much the wars have cost the U.S. since 2001 is here.

The Cost Of The Iraq And Afghan Wars Is Now Approaching $1.7 Trillion

Veronique de Rugy, Reason: Afghanistan, Iraq Direct War Spending To Date: $1.7 Trillion (and Counting)

WNU Editor: There are some interesting quotes from what people were saying 12 years ago on what would the Afghan - Iraq wars cost .... and as we now know they were completely wrong. But here is the punchline .... no one has been held accountable for this massive mistake .... and the one who warned that there was a chance that this would be the case .... White House economist Lawrence Lindsey .... he was fired when he warned that the costs may run up to $200 billion.

A Look At 'True Cost' Of The Afghan And Iraq Wars

Mark Thompson, Time: The True Cost of the Afghanistan War May Surprise You

WNU Editor: Projecting a $4 - $6 trillion cost seems a be lot .... but when you realize that Britain only finally paid off it's World War One debts this year .... Osborne to Finish Paying Off U.K.’s Century-Old WWI Debts (Bloomberg) .... adding interest and debt servicing coupled with health care costs .... $4 - $6 trillion actually may be the low end.

Since 9/11 The U.S. Has Spent $1.6 Trillion On Military Operations And Counterterrorism

U.S. Air Force advisers, U.S. soldiers, and Afghan students descend the mountain to a waiting Mi-17 helicopter after completing their final scenario before graduating from Air Liaison Officer School on Forward Operating Base Hunter range, Afghanistan, Nov. 25, 2014. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Perry Aston

Post-9/11 Military Costs Hit $1.6 Trillion -- The Hill

The United States has spent $1.6 trillion on military operations and counterterrorism, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to a newly released report by the Congressional Research Service.

“Based on funding enacted from the 9/11 attacks through [fiscal year 2014], CRS estimates a total of $1.6 trillion has been provided to the Department of Defense, the State Department and the Department of Veterans Administration for war operations, diplomatic operations and foreign aid, and medical care for Iraq and Afghan war veterans over the past 13 years of war,” the report, dated Dec. 8, states.

Of the $1.6 trillion total, $815 billion was spent on warfare in Iraq and $686 billion was spent in Afghanistan.

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Update #1: $14 Million An Hour: War Costs Top $1.6 Trillion Since 9/11, Say Congressional Researchers -- IBTimes
Update #2: Wars’ Cost to U.S. Since the Sept. 11 Attacks: $1.6 Trillion -- Bloomberg

My Comment: Did a quick read of the report .... on Figure 3 it shows that the majority of the spending has occurred during the Obama administration .... and this number is still climbing. Talk about a depressing update. The GAO report is here.

The Afghan War Has Already Cost The U.S. $1 Trillion, And It Will Cost A Few Hundred Billion More After It Officially Ends

U.S. Marines prepare to return fire during a security patrol in Nawa district in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Aug. 14, 2009. The Marines, assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, are deployed with Regimental Combat Team 3 to conduct counterinsurgency operations with Afghan forces in southern Afghanistan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Artur Shvartsberg

$1tn Cost Of Longest US War Hastens Retreat From Military Intervention -- Financial Times

The Afghanistan war, the longest overseas conflict in American history, has cost the US taxpayer nearly $1tn and will require spending several hundred billion dollars more after it officially ends this month, according to Financial Times calculations and independent researchers.

Around 80 per cent of that spending on the Afghanistan conflict has taken place during the presidency of Barack Obama, who sharply increased the US military presence in the country after taking office in 2009.

The enormous bill for the 13-year conflict, which has never been detailed by the government, will add to the pervasive scepticism about the war in the US, where opinion polls show a majority of Americans believe it was a bad idea.

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My Comment: What I find interesting about this report is this little tidbit of information .... Around 80 per cent of that spending on the Afghanistan conflict has taken place during the presidency of Barack Obama.

Iraq War Will Cost More Than The Second World War

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Iraq War Will Cost More Than World War II -- Christian Science Monitor

Iraq war, now winding down with US troop exit by December, has cost more than $800 billion so far. But ongoing medical treatment, replacement vehicles, etc., will push costs to $4 trillion or more.

Anyone curious about the cost of America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan can look it up on costofwar.com, up to the latest fraction of a second. Last weekend, the Iraq war had cost more than $800 billion since 2001; the Afghan war, $467 billion plus.

For the 8-1/2-year conflict in Iraq alone, that works out to nearly $3,000 a second.

So President Obama’s announcement that all US troops will be out of Iraq by year end should mean some drop in ongoing military spending. But the budget relief probably won’t be as much as you might expect.

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My Comment: I am very skeptical of comparing these costs to the Second World War. If Europe and Asia was to experience the same destruction today that it did in the Second World War .... the costs would run in the tens if not hundreds of trillions of dollars. But still .... there is no question about it .... the Afghan/Iraq wars have been very expensive, and their true costs will not be known for years.

Cost Of Iraq & Afghan Wars (Graphic)

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Cost Of Iraq & Afghan Wars (Graphic)

My Comment: A sobering graphic on what has (so far) been the cost of the Afghan and Iraq wars.

Iraq And Afghan War Costs Reach $11.6 Billion A Month

STAIRWAY SENTINELS
U.S. Army Cpl. Kristine Tejeda and Pfc. Thomas Adgate climb the steps of the Ziggurat of Ur to provide security for a tour of the ancient city in Dhi Qar province, Iraq, Sept. 24, 2011. Tejeda and Adgate are assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division's Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade. The soldiers have provided security for more than 20 tours of the ancient city of Ur since December 2010. U.S. Army phoyo by Pvt. Andrew Slovensky

Wars Costs $11.6bn A Month, Says Pentagon -- Sydney Morning Herald

WASHINGTON. The average monthly cost to the US of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq this fiscal year is $11.6 billion ($A11.9 billion), according to the Pentagon.

The Pentagon comptroller's office said the figure, for July 30, was up from an average of $9.7 billion a month at April 30. The total includes war-related operations, transport, special combat pay and benefits, food, medical services, maintenance, replacement of equipment and building the Iraq and Afghanistan security forces.

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My Comment: Costs for taking care of the crippled, physical and mental traumas, replacement of equipment, etc. etc. etc. .... the grand total will be much higher when the final accounting is done.

What Is The True Cost Of the Afghan, Iraq Wars?

True Cost Of Afghan, Iraq Wars Is Anyone's Guess -- Miami Herald/McClatchy News

WASHINGTON -- When congressional cost-cutters meet later this year to decide on trimming the federal budget, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq could represent juicy targets. But how much do the wars actually cost the U.S. taxpayer?

Nobody really knows.

Yes, Congress has allotted $1.3 trillion for war spending through fiscal year 2011 just to the Defense Department. There are long Pentagon spreadsheets that outline how much of that was spent on personnel, transportation, fuel and other costs. In a recent speech, President Barack Obama assigned the wars a $1 trillion price tag.

But all those numbers are incomplete. Besides what Congress appropriated, the Pentagon spent an additional unknown amount from its $5.2 trillion base budget over that same period. According to a recent Brown University study, the wars and their ripple effects have cost the United States $3.7 trillion, or more than $12,000 per American.

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My Comment: With both conflicts still ongoing .... and casualties still coming in .... the true cost of these wars will probably not be known until a decade or two after these conflicts are finally finished. My prediction .... in the end the medical/social costs will probably approach (if not surpass) the cost of fighting the war itself.

WNU Editor: For anyone who is interested, a good analysis on what the Afghan/Iraq wars were already costing in 2008 can be found here.

What Are The Wars In Iraq And Afghanistan Costing Us

OVER AFGHANISTAN - A U.S. Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle maneuvers into position to receive fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker while flying over Afghanistan to support Operation Enduring Freedom, Sept. 8, 2010. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eric Harris

Afghanistan War Costs Jump -- Wall Street Journal

The monthly cost of fighting the war in Iraq declined this year, but not enough to offset increasing expenses in Afghanistan, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service.

Between 2009 and 2010, the average monthly cost of the Iraq war fell $1.8 billion to $5.4 billion, a 25% drop. But increased spending in Afghanistan ate up that savings–and a bit more. Monthly costs rose $2.2 billion to $5.7, billion, a 63% increase.

Overall, CRS estimates that the U.S. has spent $1.1 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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My Comment: For me, the real cost of the war has been the following .... US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,418 .... and .... US military deaths in Afghanistan at 1,172.

Costs Of The Afghan/Iraq Wars Now Exceed $1 Trillion Dollars

Obama Wants More Money For Afghanistan War. Will Congress Grant It? -- Christian Science Monitor

Congress faces a formidable agenda this summer, but nothing is as wrenching as upcoming votes to fund new spending on the Afghanistan war.

Congress faces a formidable summer agenda on issues ranging from an overhaul of financial regulation to oversight of the Gulf oil spill. But nothing is as wrenching for the Democratic majority as upcoming votes to fund the surge of US forces in Afghanistan.

Most of the more than $1 trillion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan passed the Congress as "emergency" spending – that is, funded off-budget. In the Bush years, these were typically big, bipartisan votes, with Republican votes a given.

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More News On Afghanistan/Iraq War Costs

Afghan war costs now outpace Iraq's -- USA Today
War Bill Approved as Afghan Conflict Tops Iraq in Cost, Troops -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Cost of US war in Afghanistan, Iraq exceeds $1 trl -- Voice of Russia
Wasted on war: trillion with a “T” (Rep. Lynn Woolsey) -- The Hill
A Trillion Dollar Turning Point? -- Rep. John Conyers, Huffington Post
What Have we Bought for $1 Trillion? -- Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Huffington Post

My Comment: The Democrat left are clearly frustrated by these turn of events. With Republican support I still expect the House to pass the war spending bill, but President Obama has spent a considerable amount of his political capital by alienating his base of support.

How Much Is The Afghan Surge Going To Cost? The Answer Is $57,077.60 A Minute

U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff reenlists ten soldiers assigned to 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, stationed at Forward Operating Base Frontenac in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Dec. 17, 2009. DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

From Tom Dispatch:

Ashton Carter, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, put the matter this way recently: “[N]ext to Antarctica, Afghanistan is probably the most incommodious place, from a logistics point of view, to be trying to fight a war... It's landlocked and rugged, and the road network is much, much thinner than in Iraq. Fewer airports, different geography.” In other words, we might as well be fighting on the moon. In translation, this means at least one thing: don’t believe any of the figures coming out of the White House or the Pentagon about what this war is going to cost.

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My Comment: $57,000/minute .... now we are talking real money.

U.S. Costs Of Iraq, Afghan Wars Top $900 Billion: Report

From Defense Technology News:

Recently, a U.S. think tank announced that U.S. military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere had, since September 11, 2001, cost $904 billion. That seems like a lot, and it is. But it's not a lot like it used to be.

For example, World War II cost, at the time (in current dollars) over four trillion dollars. That amounted to over a third of U.S. GDP. The current war on terror is costing about one percent of GDP. So while war may appear to be getting more expensive, relative to the amount of money available, it's actually getting cheaper.

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