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Pentagon says US cost of war so far is about USD 20 billion
Washington, Apr 17: The Iraq war has cost at least USD 20 billion and probably will consume that much or more in the next five months, the Pentagon`s top budget officer has said.
Washington, Apr 17: The Iraq war has cost at least USD 20 billion and probably will consume that much or more in the next five months, the Pentagon's top budget officer has said.
An additional USD 5 billion to USD 7 billion will be needed to pay for getting US troops from the Gulf region to their home bases, officials said. That process is just now beginning.
Those totals do not include the yet to be calculated sums for postwar reconstruction of Iraq, the defence department's comptroller said at a news conference. The United States is counting on contributions from other countries to pay part of the rebuilding cost. Dov Zakheim said military operations in Iraq to date have cost about USD 10 billion to USD 12 billion. Personnel costs have been about USD 6 billion and the cost of munitions has been more than USD 3 billion. The figures include what it cost to move 250,000 troops to the Gulf area.
Between now and the end of the federal budget year on September 30, the Pentagon expects to spend about USD 20 billion more on military operations inside Iraq, officials said. In human costs, the Pentagon said the official death toll for US troops rose to 125, including a Marine corporal killed in a March 23 firefight near Nasiriyah, Iraq. The Pentagon said it had identified the remains of one soldier who had been listed as missing in action. There are now three Americans listed as missing.
Bureau Report
Those totals do not include the yet to be calculated sums for postwar reconstruction of Iraq, the defence department's comptroller said at a news conference. The United States is counting on contributions from other countries to pay part of the rebuilding cost. Dov Zakheim said military operations in Iraq to date have cost about USD 10 billion to USD 12 billion. Personnel costs have been about USD 6 billion and the cost of munitions has been more than USD 3 billion. The figures include what it cost to move 250,000 troops to the Gulf area.
Between now and the end of the federal budget year on September 30, the Pentagon expects to spend about USD 20 billion more on military operations inside Iraq, officials said. In human costs, the Pentagon said the official death toll for US troops rose to 125, including a Marine corporal killed in a March 23 firefight near Nasiriyah, Iraq. The Pentagon said it had identified the remains of one soldier who had been listed as missing in action. There are now three Americans listed as missing.
Bureau Report