According to a new report released by Brown University the US has spent over $6.4 trillion through fiscal year 2020 in budgetary costs related to and caused by the post 9/11 wars. This breaks down into an estimated $5.4 trillion in appropriations in current dollars and an additional minimum of $1 trillion for total US future veteran care obligations. The post 9/11 wars may have started in the Middle East but it has expanded into a global war on terror.
Since 2001 the wars have changed from originally defending the US against future terrorist threats from al Qaeda, to wars and smaller conflicts which have now involved over 80 different countries. This also includes the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. A takeaway that I never quite thought of is that even if the US withdrew completely from major war zones immediately and halted its Global War on Terror operations, the total taxpayer burden would continue to increase due to the cost of ongoing veterans care and interest accrued on loans taken out to pay for the wars.
The total is $2 trillion more than the 2019 fiscal year federal government budget, which itself has been ballooning to unsustainable spending. In March of this year the Pentagon estimated that the wars in Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq have cost each taxpayer roughly $7,623 through FY 2018, although this number is slightly misleading. In the past wars were paid for by tax increases or by selling war bonds, however the post 9/11 wars have been “funded” by deficit spending. Increasing the Federal budget deficit and the national debt to fund wars which have dragged on far too long.
The Global War on Terror will be a conflict that the US will continue to pay for for decades to come. Leading to an increasing economic catastrophe as the national debt continues to rise via credit card, student loan, and military debt.
Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/20/us-spent-6point4-trillion-on-middle-east-wars-since-2001-study.html
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2019/US%20Budgetary%20Costs%20of%20Wars%20November%202019.pdf?utm_source=Daily%20on%20Defense%20(2019%20TEMPLATE)_11/15/2019&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WEX_Daily%20on%20Defense&rid=84648