No end in sight: Pentagon awards $727mn contract to support Afghan Air Force
August 29, 2017
Casualty statistics from the Costs of War Project are cited in an article about President Trump's renewed focus on the ongoing war in Afghanistan.
In the News
Trump's Afghanistan Strategy Won't End Human Rights Violations Among Immigrant Contractors
August 25, 2017 Quartz
Op-ed by Costs of War contributor Noah Coburn on immigrant contractors: "Tens of thousands of contractors who serve in Afghanistan are from 'third-party' countries, as highlighted in a report released this week by the Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. While it was often assumed by soldiers and US policy makers I interviewed that these contractors in more civilian-esque roles are in less danger in warzones than soldiers, there is little evidence to support this."
Trump's Afghanistan Troop Increase Adds to $1 Trillion in War Costs
August 23, 2017 The Washington Post
Estimates by Neta Crawford, Co-Director of the Costs of War Project, are factored in to a tallying of what the war in Afghanistan has cost so far.
The War in Afghanistan: By the Numbers
August 22, 2017 NBC News
NBC News cites the Costs of War Project in tallying the total budgetary costs to the U.S. of the war in Afghanistan: $783 billion through fiscal year 2016, and $1.8 trillion when factoring in long term spending.
The Financial Cost of 16 Years in Afghanistan
August 22, 2017 CNN
CNN cites Neta Crawford, Co-Director of the Costs of War Project, who estimates that roughly $2 trillion has been spent so far on the war in Afghanistan. "But even that figure leaves out some key expenses, such as the future costs of interest Americans will owe for the money borrowed to finance the war in Afghanistan. That alone could add trillions of dollars to the total tab."
The Financial Cost of 16 Years in Afghanistan
August 21, 2017 NBC 2
Article cites Costs of War Co-Director Neta Crawford, who estimates that the financial costs of war in Afghanistan so far have reached $2 trillion, including some future cost obligations.
Commentary: Restore GI Bill Benefits for Veterans with Career-Ending PTSD
July 12, 2017 The Military Times
This op ed mentions the Costs of War Project as showing the "disastrous effects of bad paper on veterans with PTSD."
Veterans with less than honorable discharges can now access emergency mental health care
July 5, 2017 The Day
On Wednesday, the Department of Veterans Affairs began offering urgent mental health care to former service members with other-than-honorable discharges. The article mentions a recent report from Brown's Watson Institute that shows other-than-honorable are on the rise.
How the Military Discards Injured Troops and Denies Them Veterans Benefits
June 29, 2017 The Fiscal Times
The Fiscal Times features the Costs of War Project's latest study on “bad paper” discharges, which "have grown from 5.5 percent during the Gulf War era to 6.5 percent since America went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon."
As the VA starts mental health care for ‘bad paper’ veterans, critics say it’s not enough
June 27, 2017
"The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Thursday that it would begin offering emergency mental health services starting July 5 to veterans with other-than-honorable discharges – following through on a departmental change that VA Secretary David Shulkin promised in March. The change acknowledges the population of veterans has been denied needed care, but it doesn’t go far enough, according to a report released last week from Brown University."
The Dangers of Arming Autocrats
June 13, 2017 The Atlantic
The Costs of War Project is mentioned in an article on arms sales to Saudi Arabia. "The Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs has found that 'clean energy and health care spending create 50 percent more jobs than the equivalent amount of spending on the military.'"
A Study the Defense Industry Will Hate
June 1, 2017 Defense One
"Remember how Lockheed Martin tried to save its F-22 with an ad campaign touting not stealth or supercruise, but American jobs? That pitch might not be any more effective the next time around. A new study from Brown University’s Costs of War project found domestic spending spurs more jobs than military spending."
Why Trump's Boost to Military Spending May Not Deliver 'Jobs, Jobs, Jobs'
May 31, 2017 The Fiscal Times
"The $54 billion increase in military funding that President Trump has proposed in his 2018 budget would create many more jobs if it were spent on areas like education, infrastructure and clean energy, according to a study released last week by the Costs of War Project at Brown University."
In Afghanistan, Trump is poised to re-escalate a hopeless war
May 12, 2017 The Atlantic
The Costs of War Project is referenced in this article on how few Americans are focused on the war in Afghanistan. "According to the Watson Institute at Brown University, the Afghan war has already cost the United States more than three-quarters of a trillion dollars."
A Military Surge Would Push U.S. War Costs in Afghanistan Over $2.16 Trillion
May 11, 2017 The Fiscal Times
Costs of War Co-Director Catherine Lutz tells the Fiscal Times about U.S. funds and corruption in the war in Afghanistan.
Ignoring the Costs of War
May 9, 2017 TomDispatch.com
William Hartung discusses the Costs of War Project at length in an analysis of the long-term price tag of ignoring the economic costs of the current U.S. wars.
Where Should DoD Be Spending Its Money?
April 19, 2017 Federal News Radio
Catherine Lutz, Costs of War Project Co-Director, speaks with Federal News Radio about the impacts of increasing military spending.
As Trump Pushes for Historic $54B Military Spending Hike, Which Programs Will He Cut to Pay for War?
February 28, 2017 Democracy Now
Neta Crawford, Co-Director of Costs of War, talks to Democracy Now! about President Trump's call for a historic increase in military spending.
Fact Check: Did the US Really Spend "Trillions and Trillions of Dollars" Overseas?
January 20, 2017 Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times fact-checked President Trump's speech by citing Watson's Cost of War project, which pegged the wars abroad at $4.79 trillion.
The fatal expense of American imperialism
November 4, 2016 The Boston Globe
"A more recent study, by the Cost of War Project at Brown University, puts the price tag at $4.7 trillion through 2016."