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The Costs of War Project

@CostsOfWar

The human, budgetary, environmental, and social costs of US wars and military operations, at home and abroad. Housed @brownuniversity’s @Watson_School.

costsofwar.org
Joined June 2011
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BREAKING: Our latest estimates reveal that deaths in post-9/11 war zones top 4.5 million.  Read more by @MiriamABerger in the @WashingtonPost: washingtonpost.com/world/202…
Image from The Costs of War Project (@CostsOfWar)
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Over 2,500 war-themed movies and TV programs have been made with Pentagon assistance. After 9/11, the Pentagon worked with Hollywood to build support for U.S. militarism, collaborating on movies such as Zero Dark Thirty and Lone Survivor, and TV shows including 24, NCIS, and SEAL Team.
Text: Over 2,500 war-themed movies and TV programs have been made with Pentagon assistance.

ALT Text: Over 2,500 war-themed movies and TV programs have been made with Pentagon assistance.

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Read "The Militarization of Movies and Television," part of the Consuming War series. costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/…
Consuming War graphic

ALT Consuming War graphic

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The costs of the war in Iran have proven too high for American voters, concluded Vice President JD Vance.  theguardian.com/us-news/2026…
JD Vance says US war on Iran is ‘real reason’ Republicans lost midterm elections

JD Vance says US war on Iran is ‘real reason’ Republicans lost midterm elections

Stance signals vice-president seeks to distance himself from the unpopular conflict ahead of possible 2028 run

theguardian.com
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Americans have so far paid more than $151 billion in excess fuel costs due to the war with Iran.  iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu
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Even if the Iran war were to end today, the financial costs would top $1 trillion, says Costs of War contributor Linda Bilmes.  hks.harvard.edu/faculty-rese…
Why is the war in Iran so expensive?

Why is the war in Iran so expensive?

How much does the war in Iran cost? The war costs America two billion dollars each day, says war budgeting expert and Harvard Kennedy School faculty member Linda Bilmes—and will cost at least one...

hks.harvard.edu
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The New York Times reports that fossil fuel companies have made over $130 billion in profits since the start of the war in Iran, citing @WatsonSchool's Climate Solutions Lab research showing that households have spent more than $1100 in extra fuel costs.*  nytimes.com/2026/10/30/busin…
U.S. Oil Industry Earned Over $130 Billion in Profit During Iran War

U.S. Oil Industry Earned Over $130 Billion in Profit During Iran War

That was almost three times as much as what businesses producing and refining oil in the United States made in the same period in 2025.

nytimes.com
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*Corrected post—thanks to everyone who pointed out the typos.
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Visit Climate Solutions Lab's Iran War Energy Cost Tracker: iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu
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The Trump administration has announced it would end $4 billion a year in aid to Israel. Since Oct. 2023, the U.S. has provided $21.7 billion in military aid to the country.  apnews.com/article/trump-isr…
US will halt $4B in aid to Israel as the Mideast ally shifts to buying military hardware, Trump says

US will halt $4B in aid to Israel as the Mideast ally shifts to buying military hardware, Trump says

President Donald Trump says the U.S. will stop providing $4 billion in aid each year to Israel in 2027 but will sell arms to its closest Middle East ally.

apnews.com
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Read the research with @QuincyInst, "U.S. Military Aid and Arms Transfers to Israel, October 2023 – September 2025". costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/…

U.S. Military Aid and Arms Transfers to Israel, October 2023 – September 2025

In the two years since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the U.S. government has spent $21.7 billion on military aid to Israel, according to policy analyst William D. Hartung (Senior...

costsofwar.watson.brown.edu
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Read Costs of War contributor William Hartung's analysis of the news: forbes.com/sites/williamhart…
Excerpt from Forbes piece, "The President’s Proposal To Cut Israel Aid: Less Than Meets The Eye".

ALT Excerpt from Forbes piece, "The President’s Proposal To Cut Israel Aid: Less Than Meets The Eye".

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Visit Climate Solutions Lab's Iran War Energy Cost Tracker: iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu
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Replying to @CostsOfWar @Watson_School
Correction: $130 billion, not million.
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Visit Climate Solutions Lab's Iran War Energy Cost Tracker: iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu
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In one of the largest single expulsions of Afghans from the U.S., more than 150 Afghan immigrants will reportedly be deported to Pakistan, where they are expected to be forced to return to Afghanistan.  nytimes.com/2026/10/30/world…
U.S. to Send Dozens Back to Afghanistan, Despite Risk of Persecution

U.S. to Send Dozens Back to Afghanistan, Despite Risk of Persecution

The Trump administration plans to fly the Afghan immigrants from Louisiana to Pakistan, where they are expected to be expelled over the border to Afghanistan.

nytimes.com
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As governments in the region such as Pakistan force unregistered migrants to return to Afghanistan, it essential to understand the repercussions of such policies. The difficulties faced by millions of returnees are one of the many costs of war. costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/…

Return to Afghanistan: Re-migration and the Failed Reintegration of Millions of Afghans

Migration expert Nassim Majidi (Co-Founder and Executive Director, Samuel Hall) examines how forced returns to Afghanistan continue, despite UNHCR’s non-return advisory. In 2023, over a million...

costsofwar.watson.brown.edu
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Today, eight months after the start of the war in Iran, the excess fuel costs due to the war have topped $150 billion for the U.S. as a whole — roughly $1150 per household. iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu
Graphic of tracker at https://iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu.

ALT Graphic of tracker at https://iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu.

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The Intercept reports that the U.S. military has radically undercounted homicides resulting from domestic abuse, omitting nearly half of the cases in its report to Congress. This echoes our finding that the military's official estimates of sexual assault prevalence in the military are two to four times lower than actual rates. theintercept.com/2026/10/26/…
Pentagon Records Missed Almost Half of Troops’ Domestic Abuse Killings

Pentagon Records Missed Almost Half of Troops’ Domestic Abuse Killings

Military service members killed 41 people in domestic and intimate partner violence, the Pentagon reported. We found almost double.

theintercept.com
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Read the research, "Deserted: The U.S. Military's Sexual AssaultCrisis as a Cost of War". costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/…
Infographic: Sexual Assault in the Military: 2023 Estimates Pentagon estimates: 29,000 Independent Data: 73,695 (Over 2.5X Higher)

ALT Infographic: Sexual Assault in the Military: 2023 Estimates Pentagon estimates: 29,000 Independent Data: 73,695 (Over 2.5X Higher)

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The military equipment, the surveillance, the heavily armed raids, the enormous detention system, the expansion of executive power in the name of security — these developments reveal something important about the domestic costs of wars abroad.
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