The war on terror has cost taxpayers billions of dollars so far and it appears that there is no end in sight as far as expenses are concerned. President Barack Obama has added to that expense by wanting $33 billion in order to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. He has also asked for $4.5 billion for civilian operations that will be conducted in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as for more foreign aid. Afghanistan will be the beneficiary of $2 billion of that money. The House of Representatives has approved the funding and the final decision now rests with the Senate.So far the war in Afghanistan has cost $345 billion, but $22billion of that figure has been spent on operations in other countries which are related to the war.
The figure may be smaller than the Iraqi war cost of $708 billion, but it is mounting and it is expected to surpass the Iraqi figure if a solution isn’t arrived at in the near future. This is because Iraqi operations are winding down whereas Afghan operations are still in full flow.The end of the current fiscal year will see a significant fact emerging. For the first time ever, spending on Afghanistan will surpass spending in Iraq. $72.3 billion has been allocated to the former whereas $64.5 billion has been allocated to the latter. Currently the problem for lawmakers is justifying the expenditure. Their lack of faith in the Karzai government and its inefficiency in combating corruption could be an influential factor in future spending decisions.