War's Hidden Price: $8 Trillion in Post-9/11 Conflicts Financed Through Unprecedented Budget Mechanism
The Financial Black Hole of the Middle East - YouTube Pentagon bypassed traditional oversight for two decades using emergency appropriations that masked true costs from taxpayers The United States has spent more than $8 trillion on military operations since the September 11 attacks, with total costs projected to reach $13.5 trillion through 2060 when interest payments are included—making these the most expensive conflicts in American history, according to Brown University's Costs of War Project. The figure represents spending through fiscal year 2022, including approximately $5.8 trillion in direct appropriations plus an estimated $2.2 trillion to $2.5 trillion in committed future obligations for veterans' care through 2050. Interest payments on war-related borrowing have already exceeded $925 billion, with projections showing interest costs could reach $6.5 trillion through 2050. Unlike previous American wars, these conflicts were financed almost entirely through borrowing r...