The $6 trillion price tag for the "War on Terror"
November 14, 2018 Axios
This piece features the Costs of War Project's latest findings.
In the News
2 Reports On The U.S. Military, 2 Different Messages
November 14, 2018 NPR
NPR features the latest study by Costs of War that shows that the US has spent $5.9 trillion on the war on terror, contrasting this with a report by military officials that calls for more military preparedness.
Here’s How Many People Have Died In The Wars In Afghanistan And Iraq
November 12, 2018 Task and Purpose
This article features the Cost of War Project's research and details how many people have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Half Million Killed by America's Global War on Terror 'Just Scratches the Surface' of Human Destruction
November 9, 2018 Common Dreams
This article gives a summary of the Costs of War Project's lastest report on the human costs of the war on terror.
US War on Terror Kills Nearly 500,000 in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan
November 8, 2018 Voice of America
"ISLAMABAD — A study released Thursday says the U.S.-led war on terrorism has killed about 507,000 people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan during its 17 years and is showing a 22 percent increase in deaths in the past two years."
Rising death rate prompts some in Congress to reassess "war on terror"
November 8, 2018 Axios
Costs of War Co-Director Stephanie Savell writes, "The United States’ “war on terror” in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq has directly killed at least 480,000 people since 2001... This new body count signals that, far from diminishing, the war is only intensifying."
Donald Trump's Desire to "Get the Hell Out" of Afghanistan Amid Taliban Gains Could Lead to Catastrophe
September 21, 2018 Newsweek
This article on political will and US military strategy in Afghanistan cites the Costs of War Project's estimate that at least 970,000 veterans have some degree of officially recognized disability as a result of the wars.
Global Extremism Threat Has Grown Since 9/11
September 11, 2018 The New York Times
"Extremism poses a greater threat today than it did 17 years ago," despite trillions of dollars that US taxpayers have spent on it. Brown University's Costs of War Project puts the price tag at more than $4 trillion.
Seventeen Years After 9/11, Pentagon Report Ignores Trillions of Dollars Spent on Endless War
September 11, 2018 Common Dreams
The Pentagon's estimate of how much the War on Terror has cost since 9/11 - $1.5 trillion -- is making headlines, despite independent estimates such as that by the Watson Institute's Costs of War Project that have pegged the figure far higher, at $5.6 trillion. This article details why the Costs of War Project's figures are far higher than the government's.
The Cost of War Since 9/11
September 11, 2018 The Fiscal Times
The Costs of War Project's estimate of $5.6 trillion is placed into comparison with other recent estimates of war spending since 9/11, including Department of Defense data that puts the cost at more than $1.5 trillion.
The D Brief: US Spent $1.5 Trillion on Wars
August 30, 2018 Defense One
The Pentagon released a report that said that the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria have cost over $1.5 trillion, but estimates from Brown University's Costs of War project peg the costs at $5.6 trillion.
DOD says it has spent $1.5 trillion on wars since Sept. 11 attacks
August 29, 2018 Inside Defense
A new Pentagon report estimates the US has spent $1.5 trillion on wars since Sept. 11, but independent estimates such as a study by Brown University's Watson Institute for International Affairs pegs the cost much higher.
US Reliance on Credit for War Funding Could Lead to Inequality
August 21, 2018 Podcast One
An interview with political scientist Rosella Cappella Zielinski about her recent study on Costs of War which looks at a a rise in social inequality in the US due to how today's wars are financed.
The War Piece to End All War Pieces
August 16, 2018 TomDispatch
Costs of War study cited on TomDispatch, "Thanks to [Osama bin Laden's] “precision” weaponry -- those 19 suicidal hijackers in commercial jets -- the nearly 17 years of wars he's sparked across much of the Muslim world cost a man from one of Saudi Arabia’s wealthiest families a mere $400,000 to $500,000. They’ve cost American taxpayers, minimally, $5.6 trillion dollars with no end in sight."
Visions of war and wealth in the Middle East
August 9, 2018 Foreign Policy in Focus
An analysis of U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan argues that it is part of a long-term strategy to gain regional influence and access to resources. The article cites the Costs of War Project, which estimates that more than 100,000 people have died in the war in Afghanistan and about 200,000 people have died in the war in Iraq.
Credit-Card Wars Today’s War-Financing Strategies Will Only Increase Inequality
August 1, 2018 Portside
Costs of War Co-Director Stephanie Savell writes, "...the staggering costs of the longest war in American history -- almost 17 years running, since the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 -- are being deferred to the future."
We Can Pay For Free College The Same Way We Paid For A Pointless $5.6 Trillion War
July 18, 2018 BuzzFeed
Lindsay Koshgarian uses Costs of War estimates to argue that when some argue that ideas like healthcare for all or public college are written off as fantasy thinking, they should consider the virtually unlimited military spending of the US.
Credit-Card Wars: How America's Wars Fund Inequality at Home
June 30, 2018 Salon
A new Costs of War study by political scientist Rosella Cappella Zielinski shows that one effect of how today's wars are financed is a rise in social inequality in the US.
We Are All Paying the Price for America's Reckless War Spending
June 28, 2018 The Nation
Costs of War co-director Stephanie Savell breaks down how "deficit spending abroad is driving inequality at home."
Today's War-Financing Strategies Will Only Increase Inequality
June 28, 2018 Truthout
Costs of War Co-Director Stephanie Savell writes, "the staggering costs of the longest war in American history — almost 17 years running, since the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 — are being deferred to the future. In the process, the government is contributing to this country’s skyrocketing income inequality."