By The South Asia Times

WASHINGTON - A comprehensive new report by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs has revealed the staggering human and economic costs of U.S. global military operations since 2001. Titled “Costs of War,” the study estimates that these conflicts have cost the United States $5.8 trillion and led to the deaths of up to 4.7 million people across multiple countries.

The report examines U.S.-led interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and beyond, highlighting how military campaigns launched under the banners of counterterrorism and national security have devastated entire regions, crippled public services, and inflicted massive civilian suffering.

According to the research, nearly 940,000 people were directly killed in combat, including over 30,000 U.S. soldiers, contractors, and allied forces. But when factoring in indirect deaths caused by the collapse of healthcare systems, displacement, hunger, and disease, the toll rises dramatically to between 4.5 and 4.7 million.

Iraq suffered the heaviest losses, with an estimated 315,000 fatalities—215,000 of them civilians—making it the deadliest U.S. intervention in terms of civilian casualties. In Afghanistan, where U.S. forces were active for two decades, the war claimed around 243,000 lives, including 70,000 civilians. The conflict also destabilized neighboring Pakistan, where thousands more were killed, worsening the country’s security and humanitarian conditions.

Combined, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars accounted for more than 558,000 direct deaths. In Syria, the U.S. military joined the civil war in 2014; by 2021, the conflict had claimed approximately 269,000 lives, including 139,000 civilians. In Yemen, U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition contributed to at least 112,000 deaths.

The report criticizes the justification of these wars—initially launched in response to 9/11 and later reframed as humanitarian missions—arguing that their long-term consequences have been catastrophic for civilian populations. It also notes the opportunity cost of war spending: the trillions spent could have supported global health, education, or climate efforts.

Researchers warn that the legacy of these conflicts includes failed states, widespread displacement, and growing anti-American sentiment. The Costs of War report serves as a sobering reflection on two decades of militarized U.S. foreign policy and raises urgent questions about accountability, the ethics of intervention, and the future of international conflict.