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U.S. Wars Cost $20 Billion A Year For Air Conditioning Alone | What does the U.S. military spend annually to stay cool on bases in the war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan? $20.2 billion, former Iraq war logistics chief Brigadier Gen. (Ret.) Steven Anderson told NPR. A gallon of gas to power an air conditioner in Afghanistan must be shipped to Karachi, Pakistan, then spend 18 days travelling for 800 miles over land in fuel convoys, dangerous transportation operations in which Anderson calculates over 1,000 U.S. troops have lost their lives. Anderson added that a policy stating, “We will no longer build anything other than energy efficient structures in Iraq and Afghanistan,” would have a “profound effect.”

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