Iraq, Afghan wars ‘most expensive’ in US history, drained defense budget for decades

[rug]

Published time: March 31, 2013 11:20

The US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will cost taxpayers up to $6 trillion, “the most expensive wars in US history,” a new report has revealed, adding that these campaigns will dominate future federal budgets “for decades to come.”

“The US has already spent close to $2 trillion in direct outlays for expenses related to Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation New Dawn (OND),” said the 21-page Harvard report, titled ‘The Financial Legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan: How Wartime Spending Decisions Will Constrain Future National Security Budgets.’

The report also pointed out that this spending was “only a fraction” of total war costs. The “greatest expenses,” which the report said were medical care and disability benefits, have yet to be paid to soldiers. In the future, an estimated 2.5 million veterans will receive state benefits.

“The legacy of decisions taken during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will dominate future federal budgets for decades to come,” the report said, adding that the highest cost of payouts to WWI veterans only fell about 50 years after the end of the war.

http://rt.com/usa/us-wars-most-expensive-109/

https://research.hks.harvard.edu/publications/getFile.aspx?Id=923

[darkangel218]

1. Hey rug, where have you been? everyone was worried about you nt

[rug]

4. Thanks for asking.

I just signed off DU for Lent.

All is well

And Meta is no more!

[darkangel218]

5. Ahh okay! good to hear youre okay :)

Yah, meta went bye bye. :/ lol

[jsr]

2. But we created so many job creators in the process

All the God-fearing patriotic honest hardworking executives who made billions and millions in the MIC and Homeland Security industry.

[leveymg]

3. How is this possible? The number of troops in Vietnam was 600,000 in 1968. There were 16 million

Americans who served in WW2. Furthermore, the original GI Bill was much more generous.

2,333,972 American military personnel had been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan or both, as of Aug. 30,2011. Of that total, 1,353, 627 have since left the military and 711,986 have used VA health care between fiscal year 2002 and the third-quarter fiscal year 2011. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-veterans-numbers/story?id=14928136#1

The only explanation is that the cost of arms, equipment, training, medical care, and supporting a much smaller number of troops has risen astronomically. Much of this, no doubt, is due to privatization and is simply a giant transfer of wealth to defense contractors.

For a complete rundown of all US wars, including casualties, see below: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004615.html

America's Wars: U.S. Casualties and Veterans

The table below has information about the total number of service members, battle deaths, and nonmortal woundings in wars from 1775 to 2012; such as the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War I and II, Vietnam, and more.
American Revolution (1775–1783)
Total servicemembers 217,000
Battle deaths 4,435
Nonmortal woundings 6,188
War of 1812 (1812–1815)
Total servicemembers 286,730
Battle deaths 2,260
Nonmortal woundings 4,505
Indian Wars (approx. 1817–1898)
Total servicemembers 106,0001
Battle deaths 1,0001
Mexican War (1846–1848)
Total servicemembers 78,718
Battle deaths 1,733
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 11,550
Nonmortal woundings 4,152
Civil War (1861–1865)
Total servicemembers (Union) 2,213,363
Battle deaths (Union) 140,414
Other deaths in service (nontheater) (Union) 224,097
Nonmortal woundings (Union) 281,881
Total servicemembers (Conf.) 1,050,000
Battle deaths (Conf.) 74,524
Other deaths in service (nontheater) (Conf.) 59,2972
Nonmortal woundings (Conf.) unknown
Spanish-American War (1898–1902)
Total servicemembers 306,760
Battle deaths 385
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 2,061
Nonmortal woundings 1,662
World War I (1917–1918)3
Total servicemembers 4,734,991
Battle deaths 53,402
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 63,114
Nonmortal woundings 204,002
Living veterans 0
World War II (1940–1945)3
Total servicemembers 16,112,566
Battle deaths 291,557
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 113,842
Nonmortal woundings 671,846
Living veterans 1,711,0001
Korean War (1950–1953)
Total servicemembers 5,720,000
Serving in-theater 1,789,000
Battle deaths 33,739
Other deaths in service (theater) 2,835
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 17,672
Nonmortal woundings 103,284
Living veterans 2,275,000
Vietnam War (1964–1975)
Total servicemembers 8,744,000
Serving in-theater 3,403,000
Battle deaths 47,434
Other deaths in service (theater) 10,786
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 32,000
Nonmortal woundings 153,303
Living veterans 7,391,0001,6
Gulf War (1990–1991)
Total servicemembers 2,322,000
Serving in-theater 694,550
Battle deaths 148
Other deaths in service (theater) 235
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 1,565
Nonmortal woundings 467
Living veterans 2,244,5831,6
America's Wars Total (1775–1991)
Military service during war 41,892,128
Battle deaths 651,031
Other deaths in service (theater) 308,800
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 230,254
Nonmortal woundings 1,430,290
Living war veterans 16,962,0004
Living veterans 23,234,000
Global War on Terror 5
Total Servicemembers (Worldwide) (as of Sept. 2011) 1,468,364
Deployed to Iraq (Operation New Dawn) (as of Dec. 31, 2011) 0
Deployed to Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) (as of June 2011) 45,000
Battle Deaths 5,078
Other Deaths (In Theater) 1,378
Non-mortal Woundings 48,104
1. Estimate based upon new population projection methodology.
2. Estimated figure. Does not include 26,000–31,000 who died in Union prisons.
3. Years of U.S. involvement in war.
4. Total will be more than sum of conflicts due to no "end date" established for Persian Gulf War.
5. October 7, 2001 through May 29, 2012 (unless otherwise indicated). Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation New Dawn.
6. Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) estimate, as of 4/09, does not include those still on active duty and may include veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Source: Department of Defense and Veterans Administration.

Read more: America's Wars: U.S. Casualties and Veterans | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004615.html#ixzz2P81kGaDQ

[rug]

6. Aside from the medical costs, this study goes into it in Section IV.

"IV. IMPACT OF BORROWING FOR THE WARS"

It is now the military-industrial-financial complex.

[leveymg]

8. Compound interest. But, the US went into more massive debt during WW2, but we borrowed internally

at a lower effective rate, I would think. Still, it isn't just borrowing that's the problem. It's defense spending and priorities. So much of the defense spending is off-budget and black budget, I think few appreciate that the rate of real growth has been enormous and exceeded actual deployments and spending on manpower costs. There's a black budget hole that's been swallowing up an increasing amount of this.

[rug]

9. Good questions. I'd like to see that black budget hole too.

[Coyotl]

7. Those of us who opposed the war should be exempt from taxation.

Let the stupid fucks who supported the idea pay for it!

That, or now might be a good time to leave the USA as it collapses under the weight of this Neo-Con stupidity.

[Turbineguy]

10. Another success for the enemies of America.

Al Qaeda and the Republican party.

[leveymg]

13. They are one and the same. One photo tells it all>

?w=584

Here's a second with a slightly lower tier of players:

[HereSince1628]

11. W was never very good at the math...IIRC said the cost would be 60 billion

and that wouldn't come from taxpayers because the war would pay for itself.

[Initech]

12. And we gained absolutely nothing from them.

Other than the things war is actually good for: death, destruction, and profit.

[rrneck]

14. Good to see you back around. nt

[idwiyo]

15. K&R