Costs of the War in Iraq
For Immediate Release - September 11, 2003

After passage of the latest $87 billion supplemental, the war in Iraq will have already cost the federal government more than $150 billion.

In April, after the war started, Congress approved an initial $79 billion for military operations. Of the $87 billion being requested now, $66 billion is for military operations- more than $50 billion of which is for Iraq. So the military operations in Iraq alone have cost at least $130 billion. This does not factor in reconstruction costs in Iraq, or continuing military and reconstruction costs in Afghanistan.

Of the $87 billion request, $21 billion is directed to reconstruction efforts in Iraq. However this is just the first installment on the reconstruction bill there. It is estimated that the $21 billion is still at least $55 billion short of what the reconstruction will really cost. Some Pentagon officials have confessed to reporters that the $21 billion is barely enough to make it through this fiscal year.

So, we have already spent more than $150 billion on Iraq, and can realistically expect to pay AT LEAST another $50 billion plus….bringing the total to more than $200 billion. Interestingly, that is the same number that former Bush Economic Advisor Lawrence Lindsey leaked before his abrupt departure.

The $150 billion already spent is equivalent to more than $500 for every American man, woman, and child, and more than $1150 for each U.S. taxpayer. AND THIS IS ONLY OVER THE INITIAL 6 MONTHS.

If the average tax cut this year was a little over $300, the average American has spent almost 4 times what they received from the tax cuts on the war on Iraq.

If we assume that the war and reconstruction will end up costing $210 billion (and that may end up being a low estimate) than the costs increase to $720 for every American man, woman, and child, and more than $1600 for each U.S. taxpayer.

Furthermore, the ENTIRE $150 billion is being BORROWED at a time when we are already facing the largest budget deficit in U.S. history. Obviously, after interest is considered, the actual cost of the $150 billion will be much higher by the time it is finally paid off.

$150 Billion...Comparative Costs:

• The federal government is going to end up spending about 4 times more on Iraq than on homeland security this year. The $150 billion is more than 40 times what Bush proposed to spend on first responders, about 30 times what we will spend on the Transportation Security Administration to secure our airlines, 30 times what we will spend on the Coast Guard to secure our waterways, nearly 30 times what we will spend on customs and border protections, and 1500 times what we are going to spend on grants to secure out nation's ports. Are we really making ourselves safer?

Other Comparisons:

• The costs will also be 5 times more than we will likely spend on elementary and secondary education
• More than 2 and 1/2 times what we will spend on the entire Veterans Administration
• Almost 75 times what President Bush's budget proposed for "assistance to frontline states"- aid to our allies on the front lines in our war on terrorism.
• 75 times what Bush proposed to spend to combat global HIV/AIDS
• 150 times what Bush proposed to spend on refugee assistance
• More than 100 times what Bush proposed for the Millennium Challenge Account
• More than 100 times what we will likely spend on Superfund

Costs of Previous Wars
(Updated to the equivalent of 2003 dollars by the Congressional Research Service)

• American Revolution: $3.2 billion
• War of 1812: $1 billion
• Mexican War: $1.8 billion
• Civil War: $50 billion for the Union, $21.8 billion for the Confederacy
• Spanish-American War: $6.5 billion
• World War I: $588 billion
• World War II: $4.8 trillion
• Korean War: $408 billion
• Vietnam War: $584 billion
• Persian Gulf War: $82 billion (more than 90% of which was paid by U.S. allies)

Related Quotes:

Former OMB Director Mitch Daniels:

On September 15th 2002, White House economic advisor Lawrence Lindsay estimated the high limit on the cost to be 1-2% of GNP, or about $100-$200 billion. Mitch Daniels, Director of the Office of Management and Budget subsequently discounted this estimate as "very, very high" and stated that the costs would be between $50-$60 billion [Source: WSJ, "Bush Economic Aide Says Cost Of Iraq War May Top $100 Billion," Davis 09/16/02; NYT, "Estimated Cost of Iraq War Reduced, Bumiller, 12/31/02; Reuters News, "Daniels sees U.S. Iraq war cost below $200 billion," 09/18/02]

The United States is committed to helping Iraq recover from the conflict, but Iraq will not require sustained aid." [Source: Washington Post, 4/21/03]

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld:

"Well, the Office of Management and Budget, has come up come up with a number that's something under $50 billion for the cost. How much of that would be the U.S. burden, and how much would be other countries, is an open question." [Source: Media Stakeout, 1/19/03]

"I don't know that there is much reconstruction to do." [Source: Reuters, "U.S. Officials Play Down Iraq Reconstruction Needs," Entous, 4/11/03]

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz:

"I think it's necessary to preserve some ambiguity of exactly where the numbers are." [Source: House Budget Committee, 2/27/03]

Budget Director Josh Bolten:

"We don't anticipate requesting anything additional for the balance of this year." [Source: Congressional Testimony , 7/29/03]