Jump to content

Financial cost of the Iraq War

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Publicus (talk | contribs) at 20:59, 26 September 2007 (→U.S. war costs: update). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This is an accounting of the financial costs of the Iraq War by the various Coalition countries.

U.S. war costs

 United States As of September 29 2006, around $374.5 billion has been allocated by the U.S. Congress for the Iraq war.[1] Also, around $454 billion has been spent as of September 26, 2007, based on current expenditure rates.[2]

  • FY2003 Supplemental: Operation Iraqi Freedom: Passed April 2003; Total $78.5 billion, $54.4 billion Iraq War
  • FY2004 Supplemental: Iraq and Afghanistan Ongoing Operations/Reconstruction: Passed November 2003; Total $87.5 billion, $70.6 billion Iraq War
  • FY2004 DoD Budget Amendment: $25 Emergency Reserve Fund (Iraq Freedom Fund): Passed July 2004, Total $25 billion, $21.5 billion(estimated) Iraq War
  • FY2005 Emergency Supplemental: Operations in the War on Terror; Activities in Afghanistan; Tsunami Relief: Passed April 2005, Total $82 billion, $58 billion(estimated) Iraq War
  • FY2006 Department of Defense appropriations: Total $50 billion, $40 billion(estimated) Iraq War.
  • FY2006 Emergency Supplemental: Operations Global War on Terror; Activities in Iraq & Afghanistan: Passed February 2006, Total $72.4 billion, $60 billion(estimated) Iraq War
  • FY2007 Department of Defense appropriations: $70 billion(estimated) for Iraq War-related costs[3][4]
  • FY2008 Bush administration has proposed around $190 billion for the Iraq War and Afghanistan[5]

The current rate of U.S. expenditure in Iraq is approximately $10 billion a month.[6]

Joseph Stiglitz, former chief economist of the World Bank and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, has suggested the total costs of the Iraq War on the US economy will be $1 trillion in a conservative scenario and could top $2 trillion in a moderate one.[7] The Congressional Research Service recently estimated weekly spending at almost $2 billion per week, and that total expenditures have now topped half a trillion dollars.[8] Additionally, the extended combat and equipment loss have placed a severe financial strain on the U.S Army, causing the elimination of non-essential expenses such as travel and civilian hiring.[9][10]

Long term Iraq War health care costs

A recent study indicated that the long term health care costs for wounded Iraq war veterans could range from $250 billion to $650 billion.[11]

File:Iraq IED.jpg
A covertly-placed roadside bomb hitting a US Humvee
The UH-60 Black Hawk that crashed on September 21, 2004

Military equipment lost

The U.S. has lost a number of pieces of military equipment during the war. This total is approximate and includes those vehicles lost in non-combat-related accidents.

Combat losses: Land equipment[12]

Combat losses: Air equipment[12]

Main article: List of Coalition aircraft crashes in Iraq
  • 107 Helicopters
  • 18 Fixed-Wing Aircraft


In June 2006, the Army said that the cost of replacing its depleted equipment tripled from that of 2005.[15] As of December 2006, according to government data reported by the Washington Post, the military stated that nearly 40% of the army’s total equipment has been to Iraq, with an estimated yearly refurbishment cost of $US 17 billion. The military states that the yearly refurbishment cost has increased by a factor of ten compared to that of the pre-war state. As of December 2006 approximately 500 M1 tanks, 700 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and 1000 Humvees are awaiting repair in US military depots.[16]

U.K. war costs

 United Kingdom As of March 2006, approximately £4.5 billion had been spent by the United Kingdom in Iraq. All of this money has come from a government fund called the "Special Reserve" which has a current allocation of £7.4 billion.[17][18]

It is not known how much more money has been spent by other members of the coalition; however, the US's share of the cost is by far the largest.

References

  1. ^ "Senate, 100-0, Approves Budget for Pentagon". New York Times. 2006-09-29. Retrieved 2006-09-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "National Priorities Project - Cost of War".
  3. ^ http://costofwar.com/numbers.html
  4. ^ "Congressional Reports: Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan since 9/11". zFacts.org. 2006-04-24. Retrieved 2006-08-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/26/AR2007092600732.html?hpid=topnews
  6. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6767533,00.html
  7. ^ Linda Bilmes (2006). "THE ECONOMIC COSTS OF THE IRAQ WAR: AN APPRAISAL THREE YEARS AFTER THE BEGINNING OF THE CONFLICT" (PDF). National Bureau of Research. Retrieved 2006-08-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |Month= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Cost of Iraq war nearly $2b a week". Boston Globe. 2006-09-28. Retrieved 2006-09-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Strapped for money, Army extends cutbacks on spending". USA Today. 2006-07-20. Retrieved 2006-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Michael Hirsh (2006-07-21). "End of Days?". Newsweek. Retrieved 2006-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173351760178&path=!nationworld&s=1037645509161
  12. ^ a b Loren B. Thompson. "Army Equipment After Iraq" (PDF). Center for American Progress. Retrieved 2006-08-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Maj Karl C. Rohr (2006-03-21). "The Fog of War". Marine Corps Gazette. Retrieved 2006-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Roxana Tiron (January 2006). "Marine Vehicle Upgrades Reflect Combat Demands". National Defense Magazine. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
  15. ^ "Army's Iraq, Afghanistan equipment costs triple". MSNBC. 2006-06-27. Retrieved 2006-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Tyson, Ann Scott. "U.S. Army Battling To Save Equipment". Washington Post December 5, 2006.
  17. ^ "The Rising Costs of the Iraq War (March 2006)". IraqAnalysis.org. 2006-03-22. Retrieved 2006-08-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "U.K. Spending on War in Iraq, Afghanistan Rises to $16 Bln (December 2006)". Bloomberg. 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Financial_cost_of_the_Iraq_War&oldid=160551725"