“Instead of calling it a war on drugs, it becomes an expansion of U.S. counterterror operations.” Costs of War’s Stephanie Savell talks to Cronkite News about military operations in the Western Hemisphere under the Trump administration. cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2026/04/17/u...
Image from the report, "Total Information Awareness: The High Costs of Post-9/11 U.S. Mass Surveillance"
Read the report, "Total Information Awareness: The High Costs of Post-9/11 U.S. Mass Surveillance." costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/total-...
Overnight, the House voted to extend FISA, which is a post-9/11 surveillance tool that legalized warrantless wiretapping of targeted foreigners abroad, with Americans’ and permanent residents’ data swept up “incidentally." www.cnn.com/2026/04/17/p...
"When they started shooting, did they realise that some people, their lives just changed forever that day?"
Iraqi civilians met with U.S. soldiers to reflect on the human costs of the post-9/11 wars. www.sbs.com.au/news/datelin...
Costs of War contributor Linda Bilmes talks to WBUR’s On Point about the ongoing economic costs of war with Iran. www.wbur.org/onpoint/2026...
Read the research, "The Employment Impacts of Cuts to Federal Spending: Not All Cuts Are Created Equal". costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/employ...
Table 1: Comparision of Total Jobs per $1 million, Military and Non-Military Spendingn from the report, "The Employment Impacts of Cuts to Federal Spending: Not All Cuts Are Created Equal".
Healthcare spending creates 84% more jobs than military spending, while infrastructure and clean energy create from 24% to 64% more.
Iran War Energy Cost Tracker Screenshot
Check out the new Iran War Energy Cost Tracker from the Climate Solutions Lab at @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social.
The total consumer burden so far in terms of extra fuel costs is $19.7 billion — and counting. iranwarcost.watson.brown.edu
While many in the U.S. are struggling to pay bills, the average taxpayer paid over $4,000 for weapons and war last year, notes @nationalpriorities.bsky.social. www.nationalpriorities.org/analysis/202...
Screenshot of the Iran War Energy Cost Tracker
Check out the new Iran War Energy Cost Tracker from the Climate Solutions Lab at @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social.
The total consumer burden so far in terms of extra fuel costs is $19.4 billion — and counting. iranwarcost.watson.brown.eduhttps//iranwarcost...
If you aren't already, you should follow the essential
@stephensemler.bsky.social and
@costsofwar.bsky.social.
The US budget has been trending this way forever but the new proposed budget takes 80% of your federal income tax and gives it to men with guns -- the Pentagon, weapons contractors, ICE agents, veterans of war.
A society made by the use of fear and force.
A people disgusted and resisting.
Text: Over one-third of the $108 billion in contract work performed in Afghanistan from 2001-2021 for the U.S. Department of Defense went to undisclosed recipients.
Over one-third of the contract spending during 20 years of war in Afghanistan went to “undisclosed” recipients. costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/wartim...
Read the research, "How Big Tech and Silicon Valley are Transforming the Military-Industrial Complex". costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/how-bi...
Table: Five Largest Publicly Disclosed Tech Contracts Awarded by U.S. Military and Intelligence Agencies, 2019-2022
The top five contracts to major tech firms between 2019 and 2022 had contract ceilings totaling at least $53 billion combined.
Image from the report, "We Get What We Pay For: The Cycle of Military Spending, Industry Power, and Economic Dependence"
Read the research, “We Get What We Pay For: The Cycle of Military Spending, Industry Power, and Economic Dependence”. costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/we-get...
Military Spending Compared to Other Federal Spending Priorities, Over Time
A snapshot of how the U.S. prioritizes war:
Graph: Trump wants to spend $1.5 trillion on the military, $260 billion more than at World War II's peak.
Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion military budget is the largest ever — higher than spending during World War II.
Graph adapted from @stephensemler.bsky.social. www.stephensemler.com/p/trump-prop...
“This is completely out of line with what’s necessary, what’s possible, and what Americans actually need.”
Costs of War's Heidi Peltier talks to CBC News about Trump's $1.5 trillion military budget. www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
Our co-founder @cathylutz.bsky.social joined the @quincyinst.bsky.social’s Always at War podcast to talk about democracy, media and forever wars. www.youtube.com/watch?v=76f9...
Image: From 2020-2024, 54% of the Pentagon's discretionary spending of $4.4 trillion went to military contractors
Read the research, "Profits of War: Top Beneficiaries of Pentagon Spending, 2020 – 2024": costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/profit...
Image: From 2020-2024, the U.S. government invested over twice as much money in 5 weapons companies as it spent on diplomacy and international aid.
By comparison, the total diplomacy, development, and humanitarian aid budget, excluding military aid, was $356 billion. [3/4]
Image: Pentagon contracts to top arms firms, 2020-2024
Between 2020 and 2024, $771 billion in Pentagon contracts went to just five firms: Lockheed Martin ($313 billion), RTX (formerly Raytheon, $145 billion), Boeing ($115 billion), General Dynamics ($116 billion), and Northrop Grumman ($81 billion). [2/4]
As the president announces his 2027 $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget request, it's worth noting that over half of this spending goes to military contractors. [1/4] www.npr.org/2026/04/03/n...
Read the research, “Lessons from Fallujah: War Returnees Face Long-Term Health Risks from Heavy Metal Exposure”. costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/lesson...
People returning to homes in bombed areas bear the brunt of heavy metal exposure from military activity. Research out of Fallujah, Iraq found higher levels of heavy metals in the soil of more heavily bombarded neighborhoods. [1/2]
Image: Nearly 14% of U.S. discretionary spending between 2012-2024 funded militarized rivalry with China.
U.S.-China rivalry has become more militarized since the first Trump administration, at a steep cost. Read the research: costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/paper/Milita...
