Editorial

The high and deadly cost of America’s post- 9/11 wars

Seventeen years into America’s post-September 11 wars, the fiscal and human toll of the War on Terror is staggering, according to new reports from the Costs of War Project based out of the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University .

According to the report, the price tag for what the United States has already spent and is now obligated to spend for things relating to the War on Terror has hit $5.9 trillion.

This tally factors in not only the direct costs of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but also the costs of involvement in countries such as Pakistan and Syria. Additionally, the total reflects the costs of caring for our war veterans, interest on all the debt taken on to pay for the wars and related activities from the Department of Homeland Security.

The report further notes that these price tags will only continue to rise so long as the conflicts continue.

Stepping back, it seems that at least in Afghanistan there’s no end in sight. A report released last month by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan noted that the civilian death toll so far this year was its largest since 2014. Also last month, the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction reported to Congress that the Afghan government has actually lost ground and influence to the Taliban.

With the United States long lacking any clear end goal in Afghanistan, and the Trump administration to date content with maintaining the status quo, it’s not evident that change is on the way.

For future generations of Americans, this means a greater national debt and greater war-related costs they’ll have to pay for.

The human costs of America’s post9/11 wars are also similarly staggering.

The Costs of War Project estimates that between 480,000 and 507,000 people have lost their lives in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan due to war violence, including roughly 7,000 American soldiers and sailors.

This does not include indirect deaths resulting from loss of access to reliable health services, water or other infrastructure. Nor does it include the many who have lost their lives in other places the United States has intervened in, like Libya, Syria or Yemen. With trillions of dollars spent and obligated to spend for years to come, and hundreds of thousands of lives lost, Americans must ask themselves if the wars have been worth it.

Just as importantly, Americans must also ask if it’s necessary for the national security interests of the United States to continue to be involved in as many conflicts as the United States finds itself in.

President Trump, for his part, has repeatedly indicated his skepticism of the value of American interventions abroad. In April, the president noted that trillions have been spent on various wars, yet “we have nothing — nothing except death and destruction. It’s a horrible thing.”

Unfortunately, this has not yet translated into any meaningful policy changes.

The Congress, meanwhile, hasn’t been particularly helpful either. Congress has consistently abdicated its constitutional obligations with respect to war powers and recently failed to even prevent U.S. resources from being involved in the conflict in Yemen, which hasn’t been authorized by Congress.

Once again, with the latest facts in mind, we call on Congress to do its job and at least consider whether the various conflicts are worth the loss of life and additional debt they entail.

— Southern California News Group