Pentagon Claims ISIS War Cost $1 Billion So Far

Unclear How Military Came to This Number

Constantly trying to downplay the massive cost of the new ISIS war in both Syria and Iraq, the Pentagon today issued a statement claiming the “total cost of operations” has been $1.02 billion since the war began, an absurdly low number considering what’s involved.

At present, the US has some 1,700 ground troops in Iraq and has carried out 1,371 airstrikes across both Iraq and Syria, including scores of attacks with Tomahawk cruise missiles, which by themselves cost $1.5 million each.

With the Obama Administration funding the war through a discretionary fund, the specific amounts going into the conflict are being carefully kept from the public, but most estimates have the war costing conservatively $30-$40 billion annually, and that’s not counting the constant escalations.

The Pentagon has never been particularly good at doing things in a cost-effective manner, and even assuming this doesn’t include the cost of massive weapons shipments to Iraq, the official figure is preposterous.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.