Jeffery Camp, a 61-year-old retired US Army veteran who served in Maidan Shar, Afghanistan from 2008 to 2009, recalls the fine dust that infiltrated “your vehicles, your equipment, your lungs.” He joined the Army in 1983, long before the 9/11 attacks that triggered the war. “Service was a calling, not a reaction to a national crisis,” he told Al Jazeera.

During 20 years of war in Afghanistan, 2,461 US soldiers were killed and at least 20,000 wounded. Camp says he left both Iraq and Afghanistan with profound respect for the human cost of war, not just for Americans but for local populations.

Since February 28, the US-Israel war on Iran has killed at least 3,375 people, according to Iran’s Health Ministry. The US military has confirmed 13 combat deaths and over 200 injuries. The Pentagon reported spending $11.3 billion in the first six days, with an estimated $1 billion per day thereafter until the April 8 ceasefire.

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, estimates daily costs dropped to about $500 million after the first week and are now under $100 million during the ceasefire. The Iran war may be one of the most expensive per day: the Afghanistan war cost $2.3 trillion (over $300 million/day), and the Iraq war cost $2 trillion (about $684 million/day).

Naveed Shah, political director of Common Defense and an Iraq War veteran, says the Iran conflict repeats mistakes from Iraq and Afghanistan: “shaky evidence at best, moving goalposts and dangerous rhetoric.” He warns that the true cost of war echoes for decades in veterans’ bodies and minds.

According to the Costs of War Project at Brown University, US-led wars since 2001 have directly caused about 940,000 deaths. The US is expected to spend at least $2.2 trillion on veterans’ healthcare over the next 30 years.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 60% of Americans disapprove of US strikes on Iran. The war has driven up US gasoline prices by nearly 40% from $2.90 to $4.10 per gallon, costing households an estimated $200 each in additional fuel expenses.

Source: www.aljazeera.com