The cost of 76 years of US wars, from Korea to Iran | US-Israel war on Iran News
Veterans and Civilian Costs of War Highlighted Amid Ongoing Conflict
Sarasota, Florida — Retired military veteran Jeffery Camp reflects on his service in Maidan Shar, Afghanistan, from 2008 to 2009, describing the terrain as “moon dust.” The fine particles infiltrated everything from vehicles to equipment and posed health risks to soldiers. Camp, 61, served during one of the longest military engagements in U.S. history, which saw 832,000 service members deployed to Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021.
Joining the Army in 1983, Camp’s decision to serve predates the September 11 attacks that marked the beginning of the Afghanistan War. “Service was a calling, not a reaction to a national crisis,” he said in an interview.
Over the two decades of conflict, 2,461 U.S. soldiers lost their lives, and more than 20,000 were wounded. Camp emphasizes the human costs of war extend beyond the battlefield, affecting local populations and soldiers alike. “War is not clean, and the people who bear the longest burden are rarely the ones who made the decisions,” he stated.
As the U.S. continues its military operations, recent events mark 60 days since the escalation of conflicts involving U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. According to Iran’s Ministry of Health, these attacks have resulted in at least 3,375 fatalities. The U.S. military has confirmed 13 combat-related deaths among its personnel in the region, alongside over 200 injuries.
Since the 1950s, U.S.-led wars have led to millions of civilian deaths, with recent estimates from the Cost of War Project indicating around 940,000 direct deaths from conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen since 2001.
In terms of financial implications, the Pentagon reported that the Trump administration spent $11.3 billion during the first six days of the current conflict with Iran, averaging $1 billion daily afterward until a ceasefire on April 8. Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, noted that these expenditures were particularly high in the initial stages due to the use of costly munitions, including Tomahawk missiles.
The economic burden of war extends to American consumers. Marwa Jadoon, a resident of Oklahoma, described a 35 percent increase in her out-of-pocket healthcare expenses, all amid a backdrop of significant national conflict spending. “It’s appalling that my tax dollars are funding a war when we have been consistently told we cannot afford universal healthcare,” Jadoon remarked.
The national average price for gasoline has surged nearly 40 percent, rising from $2.90 per gallon to $4.10 per gallon since the onset of the war. The Climate Solutions Lab estimates that U.S. households are facing a consumer burden of approximately $27.8 billion tied to increased fuel costs due to the conflict.
Public sentiment regarding the U.S. military engagement in Iran appears increasingly negative. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll indicated that 60 percent of Americans disapprove of military strikes on Iran, a significant rise from 43 percent at the conflict’s outset.
As the military operations continue, both veterans and civilians express concern over the sustained impacts of war, emphasizing the deep-rooted consequences that extend well beyond immediate conflicts.
