The Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides the most objective, comprehensive, and non-partisan data available on Post-9/11 operations, making their legislative documents the definitive standard for assessing the scope, financials, and personnel impacts of the Global War on Terror. [1]

These reports break down the "big picture" data into specific, trackable components:

Operations & Timelines: Detailed chronologies of major campaigns like Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), including exact dates, troop level fluctuations, and transitions in mission objectives.

Budgetary & Financial Costs: CRS estimates the direct appropriations for war and diplomatic operations—including funding for the DOD, State Department, and VA medical care—as published in their War Costs and Casualties Report. For a wider economic accounting that includes future veterans care and interest on debt, review the comprehensive Brown University Costs of War Findings.

Force Structure: Concrete data on casualties, contractor data provided to the DOD, and shifts in operational strategy.

Legislative Reorganization: Analysis of overarching defense policy shifts, including the creation of the 9/11 Commission and the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security. [8, 9]

For granular, operation-by-operation data tables and total costs, the detailed CRS Cost of Operations Report is an indispensable resource. [6]

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://fas.org/publication/war-costs-crs/

[2] https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/PDF/IF11182/IF11182.1.pdf

[3] https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/RL/PDF/RL32758/RL32758.5.pdf

[4] https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/html/tr/ADA615325/index.html

[5] https://www.facebook.com/theeducatedmonkey/posts/war-cost-rankings-depend-heavily-on-what-you-choose-to-count-not-just-the-headli/1274150228186061/

[6] https://www.brown.edu/news/2021-09-01/costsofwar

[7] https://man.fas.org/dod-101/sys/ship/docs/pdeployc.htm

[8] https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL32501.html

[9] https://www.dhs.gov/implementing-911-commission-recommendations