The costs of war in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan now stand at more than 350,000 lives lost and $4.4 trillion spent.
The updated figures are from the Costs of War project, which has updated its data periodically since its launch in June 2011.
The human toll includes US soldiers and contractors, allied soldiers, security forces, insurgents, militants, and civilians.
In addition, another 250,000 lives have been lost to war-related causes like loss of civilian access to food and health care since 2003.
Another $8 trillion in interest on war debt may come due during the next 40 years.
Costs incurred for the war in Iraq are estimated to be $2.21 trillion, and costs for Afghanistan and Pakistan are believed to be around $2.15 trillion.
The new figures come as Sunni militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have begun to take over parts of Iraq, leaving the political future of the country in question.
“The decision to use further US military force in Iraq will only increase these human and financial costs,” says Catherine Lutz, professor of anthropology and international studies and co-director of the Costs of War project at Brown University.
Source: Brown University. Republished from Futurity.org under Creative Commons License 3.0.
