Cost of Iraq War Nearly - $2 BILLION - A Week

[kpete]

Cost of Iraq war nearly $2b a week
By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | September 28, 2006

WASHINGTON -- A new congressional analysis shows the Iraq war is now costing taxpayers almost $2 billion a week -- nearly twice as much as in the first year of the conflict three years ago and 20 percent more than last year -- as the Pentagon spends more on establishing regional bases to support the extended deployment and scrambles to fix or replace equipment damaged in combat.

Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts The upsurge occurs as the total cost of military operations at home and abroad since 2001, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will top half a trillion dollars, according to an internal assessment by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service completed last week.

The spike in operating costs -- including a 20 percent increase over last year in Afghanistan, where the mission now costs about $370 million a week -- comes even though troop levels in both countries have remained stable. The reports attribute the rising costs in part to a higher pace of fighting in both countries, where insurgents and terrorists have increased their attacks on US and coalition troops and civilians.

Another major factor, however, is ``the building of more extensive infrastructure to support troops and equipment in and around Iraq and Afghanistan," according to the report. Based on Defense Department data, the report suggests that the construction of so-called semi-permanent support bases has picked up in recent months, making it increasingly clear that the US military will have a presence in both countries for years to come.

more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/09/28/cost_of_iraq_war_nearly_2b_a_week/

[MannyGoldstein]

1. I Think It's Higher Than That

I beleve that I heard that this cost does not include future extra costs: replacing stuff that's being taken from inventory, and long-term medical care. The real cost is something like $6 billion a week, three times what's being reported.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. I wonder what happened in 1980? Hmmm...

[WePurrsevere]

3. Total so far according to Cost of War website is over $300 billion &

increasing pretty rapidly even as I type this.

www.costofwar.com

Think about how much GOOD this money could have done both here and abroard.

The saddest part of course is that this is just the monetary cost... the cost in lives is priceless.