Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Afghanistan and Iraq

Iraq and Afghanistan War Costs Resources

Afghanistan

Center for Arms Control and Non Proliferation Endorses Afghanistan Study Group Report

On September 15, the board of the Council for a Livable World and the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation endorsed the August 16th report from the Afghanistan Study Group. The report, entitled: A New Way Forward—Rethinking the U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan, argues that the current U.S. strategy in Afghanistan is not vitally essential to U.S. national security, ensnares U.S. forces in a civil war, has costs of over $100 billion a year to counter an al-Qaeda presence in Afghanistan of less than 100 members and is counter-productive to regional stability.

The report calls for a recalibration of U.S. strategy by focusing on the following five recommendations:

1. Emphasize power sharing and inclusion: The report calls for a “fast track” peace process built on decentralized governance and power sharing among key groups.

2. Downsize and eventually end military operations in Southern Afghanistan, and reduce the U.S. military footprint: The report argues that the U.S. presence radicalizes many Afghans and suggests a diminished troop presence there could yield significant security benefits.

3.Focus security efforts on Al Qaeda and domestic security: The report calls for increased capability to target Al Qaeda operatives and other terrorist organizations.

4.Encourage economic development: The report promotes economic development as a safeguard against increased international terrorism and drug trafficking, arguing that failed states are incubators for terrorism.

5. Encourage regional stakeholders: The report calls for a multi-state diplomatic effort to promote Afghan neutrality and regional stability.

Please read the Afghanistan Study Group Report as well as the Council for a Livable World and Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation’s own statement on U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and share it with others.

Position on Afghanistan for Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Approved September 15, 2010

In July of 2009, the Boards of the CLW and the Center adopted a position on Afghanistan calling on the Administration to provide a clear statement of objectives for the war and metrics that would show whether those objectives were being met.

To date, no such clear objectives have been publicly stated, except for a general notion of building a stable Afghanistan that cannot be used again by Al Qaeda as a base for planning and mounting attacks on the United States and its allies.

After nearly a decade of warfare that is currently costing about $10 billion per month with no clear path to ultimate resolution, and at a time when the U.S. Federal government must increase its involvement in fighting the most serious economic downturn since the great depression, and at a time when it is critical to prevent further slippage on the agenda of nuclear disarmament, it is time to change U.S.policy in Afghanistan. We must shift the burden of building a stable society to the Afghans, and refocus U.S. attention on national security concerns of more direct impact on the lives of Americans, including stemming the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

The Boards of CLW and the Center endorse the new strategy proposed in the report of the Afghanistan Study Group.

Iraq

In October 2011, President Obama announced that all US troops would be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011, a plan consistent with an agreement negotiated by the George W. Bush administration. As promised, on December 18, 2011, the last troops crossed the border into Kuwait marking the end of the nine year war. The Iraq war was one of the longest and most unpopular of American conflicts. The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation strongly opposed the Iraq War since it began in 2003.

American troops entered Iraq in March 2003, not as liberators, but as invaders, and they left the country in a similar fashion. The preliminary decision to withdraw from Iraq was taken by the Bush administration in conjunction with the Iraqi government in November 2008 in the Status of Forces Agreement. Today,roughly 200 troops remain to protect the U.S. embassy in Bagdad, which is America’s largest embassy that employs approximately 16,000 people.

Although almost all troops have been removed from Iraq--the cost of the war in terms of casualties and budget will continue to rise as the United States cares for veterans and works to rebuild sectors of the economy overshadowed by the war budget. According to the State Department, 4,487 service personnel were killed and another 32,000 were wounded in Iraq. Assessing Iraqi causalities is more difficult: the estimates range from 100,000 to over 600,000, including both soldiers and civilians.

The monetary cost of the war for the United States is equally hard to estimate. The Congressional Research Service has put the number at $806 billion (March 2003 - Dec 2011), which is similar to the figures given by the National Priorities Project’s cost of war estimates. However, Joseph E. Stiglitz, a former Nobel laureate, and Linda J. Bilmes, a Harvard scholar, estimate that the true cost of the war will be more than $3 trillion when including all the effects it has and will continue to have on the economy for years to come (Summary of figures from the BBC).

The Iraq war came at an extremely high cost for both the United States and Iraq. The war undermined and tainted America’s international reputation due to the erroneous claims of weapons of mass destruction and the lack of support from the United Nations. Furthermore, the U.S. has left behind a precarious situation in Iraq that has strengthened Iran’s hand in the Middle East. Iraq is fragile and only time will tell the long-term effects the Iraq war has on the government, the people and neighboring countries. The Center will continue to follow new developments in Iraq and provide you with analysis on how the country progresses post-war.

REPORTS & FACT SHEETS

May 12, 2011 Estimated Iraq and Afghanistan War Funding FY2001-FY2012

Feb 19, 2009 Click here to read "Implementing the President's Plan: An Outline for Action in Iraq"

Apr 13, 2009 Analysis of Second FY 2009 Iraq and Afghanistan Supplemental War Funding Request

Feb 19, 2009 Implementing the President's Plan: An Outline for Action in Iraq

Nov 24, 2008 How Comfortable is the U.S.-Iraq SOFA?

Sep 29, 2008 Is This a 'Victory'?

Mar 5, 2008 Problems with Using the Supplemental Budget Process to Fund Ongoing Military Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan

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