Iraq, Afghan wars to cost US up to $6 trillion: study: The Iraq and Afghanistan wars will cost the United States between $4-6 trillion in the long term, constraining the government's budget for decades to come, a study said.
Harvard University scholar Linda Bilmes concluded that the United States will face increasing costs to care for an estimated 2.5 million veterans, and to pay down debt incurred by borrowing to pay for the wars.
"As a consequence of these wartime spending choices, the United States will face constraints in funding investments in personnel and diplomacy, research and development and new military initiatives," said the report released Thursday.
"In short, there will be no peace dividend, and the legacy of Iraq and Afghanistan wars will be costs that persist for decades," it said.
Bilmes, who served in government under former president Bill Clinton, calculated that the United States has already spent nearly $2 trillion directly for the two wars launched by former president George W. Bush.
But Bilmes' study said the biggest cost would be medical care and disability benefits, saying that more than half of the 1.56 million troops discharged from service have already been granted benefits for life.
Bilmes, who called the numbers unprecedented, said that costs will climb over decades.
