Taxpayers' price tag for war on terror now $1.7 trillion

 

 

As the Pentagon’s push for more funding proceeds on a collision course with the Republican Congress’ desire for lowering deficits, it’s worth noting that the price tag for the U.S. war on terror has now reached $1.7 trillion.

According to Forbes, war funding for Iraq, Afghanistan and the burgeoning battle against ISIS reached that nearly $2 trillion mark in the funding approved by Congress, separate from the Defense Department budget, for the current fiscal year.

Data compiled by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University reveals that the vast majority of that funding, some $1.562 trillion, has been allocated to the Pentagon. The cost of the war on terror for taxpayers has greatly outstripped the price tag for past military campaigns. For example, the bill for the Vietnam War came to $686 billion, when adjusted for inflation.

As the chart above shows, the figures since 9/11 for allocations in the Middle East include defense, U.S. aid (Agency for International Development) and VA medical care expenses for treating wounded soldiers. It does not include stepped up funding at home for the TSA, FBI and Border Patrol. Another comparison: Though the FBI’s counterterrorism role is only a fraction of the bureau’s duties, the FBI receives just $8.3 billion a year in funding.

Here is how Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus Center analyzes the situation:

“Looking at the cost of the post-9/11 wars is important because policymakers have a habit of citing the Pentagon’s base budget, which excludes war funding, when debating and discussing funding for national defense. But, as I discuss in a separate chart, using base Department of Defense figures severely understates the total cost to taxpayers for national defense. War funding, which is budgeted under the title “Overseas Contingency Operations” (OCO), is also exempt from the spending caps implemented by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Policymakers have been rightly criticized for evading the caps by designating funds as OCO that should arguably be in the Pentagon’s base budget. 

“With the Republicans now in complete control of Congress, there is growing speculation that the GOP will seek to bust the caps on defense funding. And the president’s upcoming Pentagon budget request is expected to propose the same. On top of the on-going fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, the recent high-profile attacks by ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliates in Europe are being cited by hawkish members of Congress as justification for additional funding. Before doing so, policymakers should consider whether our heavy military presence in the Middle East, and the $1.7 trillion allocated in war funding since 9/11, have created more problems than they have eliminated. Indeed, a strong case could be made that what taxpayers are actually paying for is national offense rather than national defense—and the former is driving the latter.”