The War On Terror Has Cost American Taxpayers Nearly $1.7 Trillion

Expensive wars have become an American tradition and the global "War on Terror" is proving no exception. The cost of "War on Terror" operations including both Afghanistan and Iraq reached $1.6 trillion by FY2014, according to data compiled by the Mercatus Center citing the Congressional Research Service. Taking war funding approved by Congress for FY2015 into account, the total reaches $1.7 trillion.

Of that, the vast majority, $1.562 trillion, has been allocated to the Department of Defense. Compared to past wars, U.S. military operations since 9/11 have proven extremely expensive. Putting the cost of the "War on Terror" into perspective, the Vietnam War is estimated to have cost $686 billion when adjusted for inflation.