THE COST OF WAR
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War is expensive. With the most costly military in the world, the United States spends $649 billion on its defense every year with much of that money going towards funding perpetual military operations overseas. The War in Afghanistan is going into its 18th year this month (negotiations to end it so far have failed) and at $910 billion, it is the third most expensive war in American history.

With the military budget of the United States set to rise once again and no end in sight for the War in Afghanistan, the data visualization experts at personal finance site HowMuch.net calculated the cost of each American conflict in history and compared the price tag of each, creating a interesting chart across time. See the full image here.

Some interesting takeaways from HowMuch.net's infographic is that America's military operations in World War II were the most expensive in the country's history. In addition, The War in Afghanistan has now passed the Vietnam War in spending.

Here are the price tags for the top 5 most expensive wars in American history:

1. World War II: $4.69 trillion
2. Iraq War: $1.01 trillion
3. War in Afghanistan: $910.47 billion
4. Vietnam War: $843.63 billion
5. Korean War: $398.81 billion


[Read more at HowMuch.net]

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