The idea was that if the United States bombarded Iraq, hit vital infrastructure and leaders, that the Iraqi military would collapse, that they would surrender. And this was part of what was called then the “shock and awe” strategy. coalition, more than 2,000 of them killed by airstrikes. began airstrikes actually before the war began, in a small number, but in the first month of the war, about 7,000 civilians were killed by all means by the U.S. It was the 20th, March 20th, in Iraq, March 19th in the United States. invaded Iraq 20 years ago Sunday, our time Sunday. coalition airstrikes in the first month of the Iraq War alone. And it certainly wasn’t cost-free.ĪMY GOODMAN: So, I want to ask you about the costs of war right now as we look at your report, which includes a table that shows more than 2,000 civilians were killed by U.S. intervened in 2014 into an ongoing Syrian civil war, many more people were displaced, many more people were injured by bombs.Īnd then, what we also see is that even in the places where the fighting has stopped, civilians and other people, like healthcare workers, have been injured by unexploded ordnance which has been left in the wake of the war. Millions of people are still displaced internally and also as refugees in the region. invasion.Īnd then, in addition, many millions of people were displaced. And that’s in part because Iraq descended into civil war shortly after the U.S. in the first month of the war, but now hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed by all parties over the 20 years. And then, in addition, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed - 7,000 by the U.S.
servicemembers were killed, about 5,000 U.S. There would be few civilian casualties, few military casualties, and the war would be contained and over very quickly.Īnd what has happened over the last 20 years is that thousands of U.S. Between $50 billion and $200 billion or $300 billion would be the total cost of war. So, in 2002, the United States had a discussion about the costs of a possible war in Iraq and the possibility of civilians and others being harmed, and the estimates were then quite low. invasion and occupation of Iraq? And I say going right through today, because thousands of U.S. Neta, welcome back to Democracy Now! If you can start off by laying out what you found as you looked at 20 years of U.S. Today she’s joining us from Montreal, Canada. She’s author of a new report titled “Blood and Treasure: United States Budgetary Costs and Human Costs of 20 Years of War in Iraq and Syria, 2003-2023.” She’s also professor of international relations at Oxford University and author of the new book The Pentagon, Climate Change, and War: Charting the Rise and Fall of U.S. I’m Amy Goodman.Īs we continue to mark the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, we look now at the many costs of the war, from the civilian casualties to soaring Pentagon budgets, with Neta Crawford, co-director of the Costs of War Project at Brown University. AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!,, The War and Peace Report.
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