Wars
cost
money
before,
during
and
after
they
occur
—
as
governments
prepare
for,
wage,
and
recover
from
them
by
replacing
equipment,
caring
for
the
wounded
and
repairing
the
infrastructure
destroyed
in
the
fighting.
Although
it
is
rare
to
have
a
precise
accounting
of
the
costs
of
war
—
especially
of
long
wars
—
one
can
get
a
sense
of
the
rough
scale
of
the
costs
by
surveying
the
major
categories
of
spending.
As
of
August
2016,
the
US
has
already
appropriated,
spent,
or
taken
on
obligations
to
spend
more
than
$3.6
trillion
in
current
dollars
on
the
wars
in
Iraq,
Afghanistan,
Pakistan
and
Syria
and
on
Homeland
Security
(2001
through
fiscal
year
2016).
To
this
total
should
be
added
the
approximately
$65
billion
in
dedicated
war
spending
the
Department
of
Defense
and
State
Department
have
requested
for
the
next
fiscal
year,
2017,
along
with
an
additional
nearly
$32
billion
requested
for
the
Department
of
Homeland
Security
in
2017,
and
estimated
spending
on
veterans
in
future
years.
When
those
are
included,
the
total
US
budgetary
cost
of
the
wars
reaches
$4.79
trillion.