Overseas wars have cost the US more than 4,3 trillion dollars so far, and by the end of 2018, that amount could reach as much as 5,6 trillion dollars, according to the "Costs of War" report, which was published on Tuesday, according to the American portal. Hill", as reported by RTS.
"By the end of September 2017, the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria, as well as additional costs for national security, the Ministry of Defense and veterans, cost America 4,3 trillion dollars," according to the report carried by the Hill portal.
In the analysis, which is published annually by the Watson Institute at Brown University, it is written that 1,9 trillion dollars of that sum comes from the Emergency War Intervention Fund (OCO). An additional 879 billion came from the Ministry of Defense and 783 billion from the Department for National Security and Terrorism Prevention. 277 billion was provided from veterans' funds, and 534 billion came from the loan provided by OCO.
The author of the analysis, Neta Crafort, notes that the combined military interventions since 2001 "have been largely paid for by loans, which is part of the reason why the US went from a budget surplus to a deficit after 2001."
Those costs could grow to eight trillion dollars by 2056 "if the US doesn't change the way it pays for its wars," says Krafortova.
The member of the Senate body in charge of armaments, Jack Reid, also told reporters on Tuesday that "we have to admit that for the last 16 years we have been borrowing for military operations."
"This is the first time in history that we have borrowed for such major conflicts instead of asking citizens to participate in national defense, which has led us to have such a large fiscal deficit," Reed said.
In her analysis, Crawford stated that the costs of overseas operations will increase especially after President Trump recently decided to increase US forces in Afghanistan.
The US currently has 11.000 soldiers in that country, and another 3.000 have already been sent to Afghanistan.
"There is no end in sight to the American military presence," according to a report carried by "The Hill".
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