The High Cost of War

By Diane Randall on 05/05/2011 @ 11:00 AM

Tags: Budget, Afghanistan, Diane

Like all news junkies, I’ve been captivated by news of Osama bin Laden’s death, how it’s been reported and how Americans and the international community have responded. Along with the 63% of the U.S. public that doesn’t think the war in Afghanistan is worth fighting, I hope we’ll see the withdrawal of troops this summer as President Obama promised. De-escalating our military involvement as a response to bin Laden’s death signals not only a new approach for how the U.S. responds to terrorism but it could also have a remarkable impact in helping reduce our federal debt.

As Congress grapples with the debt ceiling and fixing the deficit through spending reductions and tax increases, they would do well to read Amy Belasco’s March 29 Congressional Research Service report. It couldn’t be more stark: "Congress has approved $1.283 trillion for military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks." The allocation of that $1.23 trillion: "About 94% of the funds are for DOD [the Department of Defense], 5% for foreign aid programs and diplomatic operations, and 1% for medical care for veterans."

Pundits across the political spectrum will argue whether the financial costs to "prosecute the war on terror" were worth it. The fact is that "The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11" tells only part of the story. Linda Bilmes’ and Joseph Stiglitz’s book and blog "The Three Trillion Dollar War" take a deeper look at costs associated not only with military personnel, base construction and security; they examine the human costs as well –loss of life, disabilities and ongoing health care for veterans and their families.

When we consider the spiraling financial demands on our federal budget and the loss of life and health that our policy choices have created, bin Laden’s demise creates a new opening for our policy leaders and demands that our "global war on terror" get recalibrated.