83 billion dollars

[choie]

that's the amount the NY times reports we spent on our saga in Afghanistan. Think of how that money could have been spent here in the U.S. - the funds that could have gone to helping those in need. To strengthening our safety net, to providing full and complete health insurance to everybody. To provide rent subsidies or - dare I say it - affordable housing. Instead it was spent on folly.

[Wounded Bear]

1. Sounds way low to me...that sounds more like an annual cost of the war...nt

[2naSalit]

2. It does.

[KentuckyWoman]

3. Military Time in April said just the DOD portion was $2 Trillion by April 2021

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/04/16/afghanistan-war-cost-more-than-2t-and-240000-lives-report-finds/

In addition this BBC Article says we have promised $4 Billion a year plus equipment to help Afghanistan resistance.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-47391821

[Scruffy1]

4. I have seen estimates as high as 2-3 trillion.

Twenty long years. I live near a major army base and deal with soldiers a lot. Just the repair and replacement cost of equipment like armor and helicopters runs billions a year.

[Wounded Bear]

6. I think some of those estimates may have combined Afghan and Iraq wars...nt

[relayerbob]

5. Biden said over a trillion today

So, that is likely just for one part

[stillcool]

7. lots of people got rich

the business of war is dead serious.

[Irish_Dem]

8. Yes. Many people became wealthy on this boondoggle.

[Javaman]

11. like I have been saying since the start of the two fucked up wars

the biggest money laundering scam in the history of the world.

whole pallets of money vanishing without so much as boo.

[Skittles]

9. that is way, WAY too low

seriously

[Javaman]

10. what was that for? the last month?

it most certainly not was for 20 fucking years of stupidity and money laundering.

[Victor_c3]

12. Don't forget about the cost of long term care and disability benefits of many veterans

I’m personally only ever deployed to Iraq, but I have many friends and acquaintances that did go to Afghanistan. Many of the guys are receiving between roughly $2,000 and $3,500 a month for the remainder of their lives. That works out to about 1-1.5 million they collect, assuming they’ll live 40 years beyond the time they left the military.

Many people, like myself also collect SSDI and in some rare cases a third disability payment from other employment they may have had after leaving the military before they became disabled.

I personally was in Iraq in 2004-2005, where I served as an infantry platoon leader for 13 months. I got out of the army in 2007 and almost immediately began to have issues worsening issues with PTSD. 10 years after I was in Iraq, in 2014, I had my first major suicide attempt and completely fell apart. I managed to work some high paying jobs in those ten years, but I was fired from all of them because of my PTSD issues. One of the jobs grants me about $620 a month plus I get to keep my private health insurance (which is great for my family) for the rest of my life. I also collect SSDI ($3,500 a month after you add the dependent pay) and VA disability at 100% permanent and total (about $3,500 a month after adding in dependent pay). I’ll collect this for the remainder of my life - and I just turned 41.

[spanone]

13. THREE TRILLION

[choie]

14. okay, let's say it's 3 trillion

Even more obscene. and my question still stands.