The Pentagon estimates that the cost of war since the fateful terror attacks on 9/11 rounds out to $1.5 trillion, yet experts maintain that this figure wildly underestimates the true financial burden of perpetual war.
"After 16 years, should the taxpayers of America be satisfied we are in a ‘stalemate?' I don't think so," the late Sen. John McCain said in 2017.
The Pentagon's $1.5 trillion figure purports to cover the time period from September 11, 2001, until March 31, 2018. While this may seem like a large sum of money, it's only about twice the 2017 Pentagon budget of $700 billion. About $1.5 trillion might be a reasonable ballpark estimate for war spending in the past few years, but to suggest it as the gross cost of 17 years of bombings; costs per hour to fly military aircraft; supplies for personnel overseas; costs of lost, damaged and stolen equipment; soldier pay; and more is almost an offense to reason.
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WNU Editor: The Pentagon's $1.5 trillion cost report is here .... Department of Defense report on the cost of the collective wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. The Brown University report is here .... Costs of War. The above reports do not take into account the damage, loss of life and injuries to civilians, and costs to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan.
