Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

9 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

9 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

1 day ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

1 day ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

1 day ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

1 day ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

1 day ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

1 day ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

1 day ago
Our Wars Are Hidden Now, But the Costs Are Still Staggering
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 7 years ago on
October 7, 2018

Share

Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden are long dead.
The Iraq War officially ended in 2011.
But the Afghanistan War grinds on, 17 years and counting with no resolution in sight.
It was on Oct. 7, 2001, that President George W. Bush — backed by Congress — ordered U.S. troops to invade Afghanistan in retaliation for the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America.

Portrait of GV Wire News Director/Columnist Bill McEwen
Opinion
Bill McEwen
Something else grinds on, too: The staggering costs of war, in Afghanistan and around the globe.
Most obvious is the tragic loss of life, the crippling physical and psychological injuries, and the millions of people forced to flee their homes and homelands. But there is also the huge amount of money used to pay for weapons and armies — not to build schools, roads, and hospitals or to invest in life-saving medical research.

Post 9/11 War Costs: $5.6 Trillion and Climbing

The Costs of War Project at Brown University estimates the price tag for America’s post 9/11 wars and Homeland Security at $5.6 trillion. That estimate includes the cost of these wars (including actions in Pakistan and Syria), interest on borrowing, and funding for care of our war veterans through 2056. And the interest on our borrowing to pay for this wars could raise the total cost to $13.5 trillion by 2056.

Source: Brown University Costs of War Project
These numbers are seismic.
So, too, is the profound lack of interest by most Americans in the White House’s deployment of troops to battle zones around the world.
You don’t read about war on the front pages of U.S. newspapers anymore. Those stories are buried deep in the paper and on the websites, far away from all but the most prying eyes.
We’ve farmed these life-and-death missions out to our all-volunteer soldiers, sailors, and pilots, and to highly paid military “contractors.”
The elimination of the draft has brought both good and bad. The good is, America’s fighting forces are elite professionals — the best in the world. The bad is, as of 2016 according to data from the Department of Veterans Affairs, only 7 percent of U.S. adults had served in the military.  It was 18 percent in 1980.

Few Have Seen the Horrors of the Battlefield

Military service no longer binds us the way it did following World War II. Only a small fraction of Americans have seen the horrors of war from the perspective of the battle zone. Thus, it’s easier for more Americans to ignore where our troops are sent and the battles that the White House chooses to fight.

Here in the U.S., we mourn the loss of nearly 6,800 American troops in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Those wars have claimed, too, slightly more 7,000 U.S. military contractors.
I say “the White House” because Congress increasingly has shown scant interest in debating or calling attention to America’s involvement in overseas conflicts. That’s because the constituents of Congress aren’t seeking more information about our “secret wars” or demanding that we completely exit the unwinnable war in Afghanistan, once and for all.
Here in the U.S., we mourn the loss of nearly 6,800 American troops in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Those wars have claimed, too, slightly more 7,000 U.S. military contractors.
But do you know the total number of people directly killed in the post-9/11 wars? The Costs of War Project’s tally is 367,000 to 395,000. More than 10 million people have become refugees or been displaced.
Sadly, these numbers will only keep climbing.

 
 
 

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

DON'T MISS

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

UP NEXT

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

UP NEXT

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

UP NEXT

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

UP NEXT

Fresno Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint on Fourth of July, Boost Holiday Patrols

UP NEXT

July 4th Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of the Founding Fathers

UP NEXT

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

UP NEXT

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

8 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

8 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

9 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

9 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

9 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

9 hours ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

9 hours ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

9 hours ago

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

9 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

9 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign a massive package of tax and spending cuts into law at a ceremony at the White House on Friday, ...

7 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
7 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
8 hours ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

8 hours ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
8 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
9 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Israel Builds a Fence Around the West Bank
9 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

A view of the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
9 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend