Cost of War

Five years after the 9-11 attacks on the United States, over 62,000 people have died in the War on Terror according to a report in The Independent. The financial cost to the US and UK exceeds the amount needed to pay off the debts of every poor nation on earth.

The [estimate]is the first attempt to gauge the full cost in blood and money of the worldwide atrocities and military conflicts that began in September 2001. As of yesterday, the numbers of lives confirmed lost are: 4,541 to 5,308 civilians and 385 military in Afghanistan; 50,100 civilians and 2,899 military in Iraq; and 4,081 in acts of terrorism in the rest of the world.

Note that most of the dead are Iraqi civilians. That's a pretty high toll for a nation that had no part in the 9-11 attacks.

Then there's the money.

Beyond the blood price, there is a dollar and sterling cost. In July it was reported that the US Congress had approved $437bn (£254bn) for costs related to the "war on terror". This, a sum greater than those spent on the Korean and Vietnam wars, compares to the $375bn that Make Poverty History says is needed to clear the debts of the world's poorest nations. The British Government has spent £4.5bn on Iraq and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the search for the man who actually planned the 9-11 attacks has gone "stone cold".

Are we safe yet?