Daniel Larison, over at The American Conservative, writes on the last 20 years of America’s wars of choice. In “The Costs Of Forever War: 335,000 Dead Civilians And $6.4 Trillion” he cites a recent study on post-9/11 wars and military action in the Middle East and Asia, published by the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University. Links to both the Larison article and to the Watson study are provided at bottom.

First, a few highlights:

– To repeat: Costs of our post-9/11 wars in the Middle East and Asia: 335,000 dead civilians and $6.4 Trillion.

– Larison points out, “When those wars are unnecessary and useless it makes the exorbitant cost that much more sickening.” Further, he writes, “These wars have not made the U.S. more secure, they have created more enemies than they destroyed, and they have set fires in their respective regions that will take years to burn out.”

– The Watson Institute reports that more than 801,000 people have died as a direct result of fighting, including the 335,000 civilians. Another 21 million people have been displaced due to violence.

And for what?

The link to Larison:

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/the-costs-of-forever-war-335000-dead-civilians-and-6-4-trillion/

The link to the Watson Institute study:

https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/