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Custo da guerra financiada por dívida infographic
A infografia mostra as baixas e os custos estimados a guerra no Afeganistão e Paquistão desde 2001.
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Custo da guerra dos EUA financiada por dívida

By Duncan Mil

August 24, 2021 - Os governos dos EUA financiaram a guerra no Afeganistão com dívida em vez de impostos ou obrigações de guerra. Após 20 anos de conflito, os contribuintes americanos têm agora que pagar juros de $530.000m.

Paying for the staggering $2.26 trillion costs of the Afghan conflict will be borne by generations of U.S. citizens.

According to the Brown University Costs of War Project data, the human cost of the now-ending U.S. combat mission claimed the lives of between 239,000 and 242,000 people in Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan.

American service members killed through April reached 2,442, with an additional 3,936 U.S. contractors. A further 1,144 allied troops also lost their lives during nearly 20 years of occupation.

Afghan and Pakistani national military and police lost 75,300 members, while more than 71,000 civilians died. Eighty-four thousand opposition fighters also perished in the conflict.

U.S. President Harry Truman temporarily raised top tax rates to pay for Korean War, as did President Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam War.

However, at the outset of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, President George W. Bush cut tax rates for the wealthiest and fought the war on credit.

According to Heidi Peltier, Director of the “20 Years of War” Project at Boston University, the cumulative interest owed by the U.S. taxpayer will continue to rise.

The actual cost of the interest payments for debt the U.S. incurred between 2001 and 2021 will surge to $2.14 trillion by 2030 and triple to more than $6.42 trillion by 2050.

These interest payments are almost one-third of the nation’s current gross domestic product of $21.4 trillion.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 24/08/2021; STORY: Graphic News
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