Cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other military operations through 2008 and beyond

To date, some 4,800 US Service members have been killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and about 33,000 wounded. These military operations have also incurred substantial financial costs, including both direct budgetary costs and associated interest payments on the federal debt. These costs have grown dramatically over the past few years. In addition, some observers argue that as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan the United States has incurred significant economic and social costs that go beyond, and may even exceed, the wars' budgetary costs. Along with the concerns over strategy and the size and duration of the US deployments in these operations (especially in Iraq), the Bush Administration has also been criticized because of the way in which it has budgeted for and financed these wars.