The Guilfordian

Issue date: 11/21/03 Section: World

Media Credit: www.firethistime.org/lifeanddeathiniraq The cost of the war in Iraq is astounding

"With this act of Congress, no enemy or friend can doubt that America has the resources and the will to see this war through to victory," said President Bush as he signed the Nov. 6 emergency $87.5 billion spending package for Iraq, according to CNN. Yet many people are not even sure how much the war has cost thus far.
"I quit keeping track months ago and I can't even remember that number, said sophomore James Thorne about how much he thought it cost. "I'm sorry, but any answer I give you will be pathetically uninformed" .
There are reasons for the confusion. Estimates vary depending on what figures you choose to take into account. I've heard anything from $53.3 to $85.5 billion. What figures you hear depends almost entirely on where people get their numbers. Here are just a few of the possible numbers, taken from press releases through the Congressional Budget Office, that you may want to consider when coming up with your own estimate of how much Iraq is really costing.
Cost of war until April 16, 2003 - $24 - $28 billion.
On April 16, the Department of Defense Comptroller Dov Zakheim told the press that the Pentagon spent between $10-12 billion in military operations, plus $9 billion in the first three and a half weeks. He added an estimated $5-$7 billion for returning the troops and equipment to base, resulting in the $24 to $28 billion estimate.
+ $3.9 billion a month x 7 months = $27.3 billion
On July 9, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the military occupation of Iraq cost at least $3.9 billion each month. Some people round this up to $4 billion. The seven months start on April 16, when Bush requested that the U.N. lift economic sanctions.
+ $2 billion
On July 30, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Joshua Bolten reported to the Senate Foreign Relations that the U.S. had spent $2 billion on the reconstructing Iraq Committee. However, he did not include estimates for the coming months, so this figure has risen since then. Some people inflate this figure, while others discount it entirely until a further estimate comes out.
+ $8 billion
The Fiscal 2003 Supplemental Appropriations Bill (H.R. 1559) allocated $8 billion to encourage foreign support for the war and rebuild Iraq, particularly Iraq's oil fields. This figure may be high, since it was a requisition, not actual money spent.

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