U.S. wars launched since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have left 225,000 dead and cost up to $4.4 trillion, according to a new study by university researchers that was reported in Defense News.
The Brown University study focused on the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and counter terrorism campaigns in Pakistan and Yemen. Its financial cost estimates are considerably higher than those used by the Pentagon, which puts the wars' cost at about $1 trillion because the researchers included costs in excess of the direct war appropriations, such as projected spending on wounded veterans through 2051.
The study said "an extremely conservative estimate" of the casualty toll was about 225,000 people killed and 365,000 wounded in the wars so far, according to Defense News.
The number of soldiers killed comes to 31,741, including about 6,000 Americans, 1,200 allied troops, 9,900 Iraqis, 8,800 Afghans, 3,500 Pakistanis as well as 2,300 U.S. private security contractors, it said.
The civilian toll was much higher, with an estimated 172,000 dead, including about 125,000 Iraqis, 35,000 Pakistanis and 12,000 Afghans, it said.
The study acknowledged that estimating the number of dead was difficult.
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