Table taken from “Costs of War” report by the Watson Institute.
21st Century Wire says…
The US is up to its neck in the quagmire of war and since 9/11 its oxymoronic “war on terror” has cost almost $ 6 trillion to maintain. This shocking budgetary analysis has been released by the Watson Institute as part of their “Costs of War” project.
The following article from the Military Times has summarised the main points of the report:
“Overseas combat operations since 2001 have cost the United States an estimated $4.3 trillion so far, and trillions more in veterans benefits spending in years to come, according to the latest analysis from the Costs of War project.”
Author of the report Neta Crawford states:
“But the research includes another $880 billion in new base defense spending related to combat efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Pakistan since 2001, as well as about $780 billion in boosted Department of Homeland Security costs in that time frame.
Veterans spending has increased by almost $300 billion so far as a result of those conflicts, and future spending on those benefits over the next four decades is estimated to top $1 trillion more.
Crawford noted that all of the costs could rise with President Donald Trump’s recent decision to boost U.S. end strength in Afghanistan.
“There is no end in sight to the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and the associated operations in Pakistan,” she wrote.”
Compare this to US spending on healthcare:
“US healthcare spending rocketed $900 billion between 1996 and 2013, staggering new data reveal. Americans spend more money on healthcare than any other population, and increasingly so.
By 2013, total healthcare spending hit $2.1 trillion, according to the study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers say that figure has now likely soared to more than $3.2 trillion, which equates to 18 percent of the country’s economy.” ~ The Daily Mail
Or to Trump’s “word salad” response to a question on health care three weeks ago, in total contrast to his bellicose support for arms trade, particulary with the human rights violating, absolute monarchy of Saudi Arabia, currently waging a genocidal war of aggression against the Yemeni people, with US endorsement:
Food for thought.
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