Sputnik–

The US has spent $2.8 trillion on counterterrorism since the September 11 attack, a new report by the Stimson Center has found. The report is the first of its kind to attempt to accurately account for spending in this field.

“The United States currently lacks an accurate accounting of how much it has spent on the fight against terrorism,” the nonprofit think tank noted in its May 16 report. Although defining the boundaries of counterterrorism is difficult, Stimson decided it must include “all war-related, OCO [Overseas Contingency Operations], and emergency supplemental spending; all homeland-security-related spending as defined by OMB’s [Office of Management and Budget] homeland security index; and all foreign aid through US funding accounts and initiatives specifically created for CT [counterterrorism].”

Defense News noted that this accounts for 16 percent of the US’ entire discretionary budget for that period.

Read More