Iraq war Archives

By Debbie Gregory.

There are many ways to calculate the cost of war. Paying for a war doesn’t end when the fighting does. The initial fight in Iraq was meant to cost no more than $60 billion, a small fraction of the cost to date. The financial cost of the war in Iraq, through Fiscal Year 2013, stood at $1.7 trillion.

Paying for this war will continue through the next generation, but there are other numbers, besides the monetary cost, that are staggering, especially the human toll.

Direct war deaths, which don’t include the hundreds of thousands more that died due to war-related hardships, stands at approximately 189,000.

There were 4,488 U.S. service personnel who were killed directly.

If you take PTSD out of the equation, 32,223 troops have been injured. The number of those with PTSD is anywhere from 11%-20% of those who served. Over 250,000 troops have been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury through 2013.

For those who aren’t in uniform, 134,000 civilians and 150 journalists have lost their lives. Close to 3 million remain either internally displaced or have fled the country.

Equipment and infrastructure both come with hefty price tags: $20 billion was paid to KBR for equipment and services, and $60 billion was paid for reconstruction. All in all, the price tag for subcontractors is expected to be $75 billion.

U.S. forces used 38,095 barrels of oil each day, at a cost of $127.68/barrel.

Before the war, Iraq owed $4 billion to the U.S, but now the U.S. owes Iraq $7 billion.

Servicemembers will often say that they answered a call to serve and wouldn’t trade their time in the military for anything. But it is important to remember that the consequences of war, at home and abroad, do not end simply with a cease-fire.

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Americans were led to believe that Iraq’s “Weapons of Mass Destruction” were the driving force for allowing U.S. troops to deploy to Iraq in 2003. When no such weapons were found, there were many who felt that they had been lied to about the existence of these weapons by then-President George W. Bush. Perhaps the American people were lied to, but we may discover that the lies were different than what we thought they were.

For the duration of the Iraq War, from 2003 to 2011 and beyond, both the American military and later the American-trained Iraqi troops have encountered chemical weapons remaining from Saddam Hussein’s rule. An estimated 5,000 chemical warheads, shells and aviation bombs have been recovered. While these may have not been the “Weapons of Mass Destruction” described by President Bush, they absolutely were and are weapons of mass destruction, including mustard and Sarin agents, as well as other chemical and nerve agents.

When found in abandoned stockpiles of munitions throughout Iraq, these weapons were destroyed in order to prevent them falling into the wrong hands. But at least 17 American service members and U.S.-trained Iraqi security force members were exposed to these chemical agents… and told to keep quiet about it.

The reason for any attempted cover-up is not yet known. In fact, it would have made more sense to tell the American public that these weapons were found in order for the Bush administration to save face. But with the revelation of this story, three things become apparent:

1) There are Iraq War Veterans who may need additional care and treatment due to exposure.

2) It is likely that there are more stockpiles of weapons still buried in Iraq.

3) Someone may find these stockpiles and use them.

The question that begs asking is that with the likelihood of more weapons of mass destruction still remaining in Iraq, will the Obama administration use their existence as a reason to send American ground forces back into Iraq?

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