February 26, 2005

Although the exact cost of the Iraq invasion to the American taxpayer is not known, recent figures suggest it is a lot more than has been publicly suggested and will grow considerably higher. Part of the problem in estimating costs is that the war is obviously not over; it just keeps going, and going, and going. According to a report on the cost of the war in Iraq released last week by the Democratic staff of the House Budget Committee, the war and ongoing insurgency could cost the United States between US$461 billion and $646 billion by 2015, depending on the scope and duration of operations. The difference between the low and high-end estimates depends on potential costs in 2006 and beyond. The lower figure is based on a US withdrawal of forces within four years, per Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's prediction that all US troops could be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2008. The second estimate reduces US forces to 40,000 by 2010, per a previously released Congressional Budget Office model. The Budget Committee report estimates are higher than previous estimates for several reasons: the war is lasting longer and is more intense, and the cost to keep US troops in the theater of operations is proving to be greater, than anyone anticipated. Those estimates are also far higher than anyone had predicted earlier, including Lawrence Lindsey, President George W Bush's former chief economic adviser. In 2002 he predicted that the cost of a war with Iraq could range between $100 billion and $200 billion at best. The administration dismissed the figure, and Lindsey was soon fired. [more]

Republican Lindsay Graham on Iraq War of Choice: "Americans should not think that simply because Iraq has held elections, the troops will be coming home anytime soon."We're still in Germany and South Korea 50 years later," Graham said. "It took years after the fall of Tokyo and Berlin before a functioning democracy was up and running. I see no reason it will not take years in Afghanistan and Iraq." [more]
Colin Powell Speaks: The US-led war in Iraq was fought 'brilliantly' but there were not enough soldiers for the peace, United States former secretary of state Colin Powell admitted. [more]
U.S. Talks of Ending Iraq Inspectors' Work [more]
Pictured above: A firefighter shields his face from the heat of a blazing oil pipeline in Dibis in the northern Kurdish area of Iraq Saturday, Feb. 26, 2005 after saboteurs blew it up in the latest attack against the insurgent-wracked country's vital oil industry. The pipeline connects oil fields in Dibis with the northern city of Kirkuk, about 35 kilometers (20 miles) to the southeast. [more]