Another $77.1 Billion for the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

NPP releases local cost of war breakdowns and launches cost of Afghanistan war.

Flags of Afghanistan and Iraq Photos by Tim King Salem-News.com

(NORTHAMPTON, Mass.) - As Congress considers President Obama's $83.4 billion supplemental request for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2009, $77.1 billion of which is dedicated to Iraq and Afghanistan war funding, National Priorities Project offers a state-level tradeoff and breakdowns of U.S. war spending costs by state, congressional district, county and town.

NPP's trade-offs page offers similar breakdowns for approved totals to date and the pending supplemental, showing what the equivalent sums could buy in healthcare, education and renewable energy services.

Of the $77.1 billion war spending request, roughly $52.7 billion is dedicated to the Iraq War, while $24.4 will fund the expanded U.S. war in Afghanistan. The total cost for both wars, including approved spending and the pending supplemental is $907.3 billion.

The cost to Alabama for the additional pending war funding would be $705 million while the cost to California would be $9.8 billion. In comparison, without including the pending supplemental, California has spent $105 billion in aggregate war costs since 2001.

“In a departure from previous years, NPP is releasing total war spending for both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and launching a cost of war counter for Afghanistan,” notes Jo Comerford, Executive Director of National Priorities Project. “While we applaud Defense Department efforts to cut waste and unnecessary weapons systems, we are mindful that the current efforts facilitate a shift of funds within the U.S. military budget rather than amounting to a substantial budget decrease.”

In addition to the Afghanistan cost of war counter, NPP is co-releasing, with the American Friends Service Committee, a primer on the human and economic cost of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. The four page publication is due out later this week. Comerford continues, “21,000 additional U.S. troops in Afghanistan represent a 55% increase in combat personnel from current levels. NPP's tools will help people across our nation understand the war's escalating financial impact at home.”

The National Priorities Project (NPP) is a 501(c)(3) research organization that analyzes and clarifies federal data so that people can understand and influence how their tax dollars are spent. Located in Northampton, MA, since 1983, NPP focuses on the impact of federal spending and other policies at the national, state, congressional district and local levels. For more information, go to http://nationalpriorities.org.

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