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The cost of war
$1.7 trillion
Polina Aksamentova
A new estimate by the US Congress's Joint Economic Com-
mittee puts the US cost of Iraq
and Afghanistan wars at $1.7
trillion, almost double the sum
the Bush administration has
asked or received to finance the
two wars through 2008.
Released by Democrats on 13
November, the report incorporates such expenses as medical
care for wounded soldiers,
interest on borrowed money
and the impact on oil prices
since the invasion, in addition
to the funds necessary to sustain
the occupation.
These "hidden costs" add dramatically to the $804 billion
requested by the White House
for both wars.
The committee believes the
totals cost of the conflicts will
reach $3.5 trillion by 2017.
Even with "considerable draw
down in troop levels", in the
most likely scenario, the cost
reaches $3.5 trillion in 2027.
Alternative spending
But even the current war price
tag is staggering. The $1.7 trillion number is hard to comprehend. What can a thousand and
seven hundred billions buy,
aside from two wars over four
years?
Roughly $1.5 trillion is
needed to meet Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs),
established by the UN in 2002
to reverse the dire poverty,
hunger and disease affecting
billions of people.
The Millennium Project
asked developed world countries to contribute 0.7 percent
of their national income (GDP)
each year to attain this goal by
2015. So far only five countries
have met this target.
The US is not one of them.
Some of the Millennium
Development Goals include
halving the proportion of the
world's population who live on
less than $1 a day; halting and
beginning to reverse the spread
of HIV/AIDS, malaria and
other major diseases; halving
the proportion of people without safe drinking water and
basic sanitation; and ensuring
primary schooling for all chil-
dren.
Climate Change
The $1.7 trillion could also pay
for three years of climate
change prevention.
The Stern Review, a 2006
report by former World Bank
vice-president, predicts that
spending one percent of global
GDP would alleviate the effects
of climate change.
The CIA Factbook estimated
the global GDP at $46.77 trillion in 2006, which puts the
prevention costs at roughly half
a trillion a year.
242 chocolate bars
And if the money were split
evenly between all the people of
the world, each of us would
receive $242.4.
We could use this to each
buy 242 Fairtrade "Dubble"
chocolate bars from Ghana.
But despite these worthier
causes, the $1.7 trillion is
already spent. And unless the
war ends soon, the costs will
double again.
Polina Aksamentova is a US
reporter working with PN.
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