US wars since 9/11 attacks cost $1.6 trillion: Analysis

Press TV

The analysis by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) found that from fiscal 2001 to fiscal 2014, the US government spent $815 billion for the war in Iraq, $686 billion for warfare in Afghanistan and $81 billion for other war-related operations.  

The total includes $297 billion spent on weapon procurement and war repairs and $27 billion for air patrols over the US, according to the CRS, a public policy research arm of the US Congress.

More than 90 percent of the funding went to the Pentagon for war operations, “training” Iraqi and Afghan forces, and medical care for wounded US troops over the past 13 years, CRS said in the report.

Other studies have calculated the total cost of US wars as much higher because the CRS did not include the lifetime costs of medical care for disabled veterans, related interest on the budget deficit or increases to the base military budget, which are all a consequence of the wars.

“Such costs are difficult to compute, subject to extensive caveats and often based on methodologies that may not be appropriate,” wrote Amy Belasco, author of the report.

The human cost of the American wars has also been staggering.

The US invasion of Iraq, which was initiated by the false pretext of Saddam Hussein possessing weapons of mass destruction, resulted in 4,491 US military and civilian deaths and 32,244 injured, according to the Pentagon.

The US invasion of Afghanistan, which was launched to destroy al-Qaeda and the Taliban for allegedly carrying out the 9/11 attacks, has led to 2,356 US military and civilians deaths and 20,060 wounded as of December 16.

AHT/HRJ

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/12/20/391095/us-wars-since-911-cost-16-trillion/