Since late 2001, the United States has appropriated and is obligated to spend an estimated $8 trillion through Fiscal Year 2022 in budgetary costs related to and caused by the post-9/11 wars — an estimated $5.8 trillion in appropriations in current dollars and an additional minimum of $2.2 trill...
U.S. policymakers scarcely considered alternatives to war in the aftermath of 9/11 or in debating the invasion of Iraq. Some of those alternative paradigms for addressing the problem of terror attacks are still available to the U.S....
Violence has been the major factor in involuntary population movements among Afghans. Since 2001, 5.9 million Afghans have either been displaced internally or have fled the country, primarily to Pakistan and Iran where they face an uncertain political situation. Iranian officials, for example,...
The Iraq and Afghanistan wars have contributed to significant economic setbacks in the United States, through lost opportunities for investment in public infrastructure and services and higher borrowing rates. Contrary to the widespread belief that war is a particularly effective way to create j...