Eight Years of US War in Afghanistan: The Dollars Add Up
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Common Dreams
National Priorities Project
10/06/2009
WASHINGTON - October 6 - October 7, 2009 marks the eighth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. National Priorities Project (NPP) analyses find that, to date, U.S. military operations in Afghanistan have cost U.S. taxpayers $228 billion, $60.2 billion of which was spent in FY 2009 alone. Monthly costs in Afghanistan during FY 2009 averaged $5 billion, up from $3.5 billion per month in FY 2008. In FY 2010, U.S. military spending for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is projected to be $130 billion. In the past, funding was split between the two U.S. wars at a 70/30 ratio, with the majority of U.S. dollars going to operations in Iraq. In FY 2010, this ratio is projected to shift, with Afghanistan war spending accounting for over 50 percent of total costs. NPP has a host of Afghanistan War-related resources, including: Cost of War Counters: Afghanistan, Iraq and combined, http://www.costofwar.com/ War spending trade-offs: state, Congressional district and more than 1,000 cities and towns, helping to convey the magnitude and meaning of budget figures, http://www.nationalpriorities.org/tradeoffs(see below) Quick facts about Afghanistan: with troop levels, annual funding, etc., http://www.nationalpriorities.org/2009/09/02/quick-facts-US-military-operations-Afghanistan Cost of War in Afghanistan: a primer on both the human and economic costs of war, http://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost_of_war_afghanistan The numbers are staggering. $228 billion in Afghanistan war spending equals 800,000 4-year university scholarships for U.S. students, notes Jo Comerford. "$228 billion also means $469.1 million from Boston, MA taxpayers which is the equivalent of healthcare for 140,600 people; $1.5 billion from Alameda County, CA folks which equals 4,341 affordable housing units; or $89.2 million from people in Evanston, IL which equals 1,372 elementary school teachers." With the passage of the FY 2010 Department of Defense budget, total U.S. spending for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will exceed $1 trillion by March of next year.
