War Costs Surge, Army Stretched Thin

The Congressional Research Service reports that the Iraq war is costing American taxpayers $2 billion a week -- that's about twice as much as in 2003. Afghanistan -- where the 9-11 hijackers were linked -- is costing $370 million a week, up 20 percent from 2005.

These costs fly in the face of the Administration's pre-war assessments, which assured Americans that the bulk of reconstruction costs would be shouldered by Iraq and that the total cost of the war would be around $50 billion.

Part of the cost increase is related to "semi-permanent support bases," which means that the Pentagon tacitly believes the US military will be in Iraq for the long-haul. This is not unlike the $2.5 billion that the Congressional Research Service found the Pentagon "diverted from other spending authorizations in 2001 and 2002 to prepare for the invasion."

And yet a new poll shows that six-in-10 (60%) of Iraqis "say they approve of attacks on U.S.-led forces." Most Iraqis (about 80%) believe the crux of the controversial NIE report: the US presence in Iraq "provokes more violence than it prevents."

Multiple Tours
Reuters notes that most soliders are facing their second or third deployment. "About 102,000 of the 142,000 U.S. troops in Iraq are Army soldiers, as well as 16,000 of 21,000 troops in Afghanistan."

In the past two months, the Pentagon has extended two brigades of nearly 4,000 soldiers each beyond their scheduled departure date from Iraq -- which can undermine morale and upset families at home.

Army officials also said they might need to turn more to part-time National Guard soldiers for future rotations.

Army leaders are expressing concern over getting sufficient resources to sustain overseas deployments and replace and fix tanks, armored vehicles and other equipment battered in Iraq.

The average National Guard mobilization is 460 days. And no one seems to be counting the suffering of the wounded, those with brain injuries, an "unprecedented" number injured so severely that the Army is considering having soliders carry living wills onto the battlefield.

Result: "Broken Budget"
Reuters also notes that Gen. Peter Schoomaker, Army chief of staff, asked the Pentagon for "about $140 billion in 2008, roughly $25 billion more than the outline initially set by the Pentagon for the Army." But he refused to present a budget: "There's no sense in us submitting a budget that we can't execute -- a broken budget."

A Columbia University report (pdf) on the costs of the war reminds us that the Congressional allocation is only the "tip of the iceburg."

However, there are additional costs to the government œ over and above this number. These include disability payments to veterans over the course of their lifetimes, the cost of replacing military equipment and munitions which are being consumed at a faster-than-normal rate, the cost of medical treatment for returning Iraqi war veterans, particularly the more than 7000 servicemen with brain, spinal, amputation and other serious injuries, and the cost of transporting returning troops back to their home bases.

Unlike the USA Today article, the Columbia authors paint an even bleaker picture of long-term care costs:

To date [31 December 2005], 3213 people -- 20% of those injured in Iraq -- have suffered head/brain injuries that require lifetime continual care at a cost range of $600,000 to $5 million.

These assessments mirror that offered by Dr. Joe P Dunn, Converse College, in August:

We have one-third of our available combat forces committed in Iraq and Afghanistan, one-third just returned and awaiting redeployment (often for third tours), and one-third immediately preparing to go. This strain on our limited manpower cannot go on endlessly.

Administration Statements on War Costs
Current estimates suggest the cost of the war in Iraq could exceed $700 billion. From Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL):

White House economic advisor Lawrence Lindsay (September 2002): Estimated the cost of the Iraq war to be a maximum of 1-2% of GNP (about $100-$200 billion). OMD Director Mitch Daniels subsequently discounted this estimate as “very, very high” and stated that the costs would be $50-$60 billion.

Defense Secretary Rumsfeld (January 2003): “Well, the Office of Management and Budget, has come up come up with a number that's something under $50 billion for the cost.”

Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage (March 2003): “When we approach the question of Iraq, we realize here is a country which has a resource. And it’s obvious, it’s oil. And it can bring in and does bring in a certain amount of revenue each year…$10, $15, even $18 billion…this is not a broke country.”

Also, see The Tragedy of Unlearned Lessons, Iraq War Statistics, and The Economic Costs of the Iraq War: An Appraisal Three Years After The Beginning Of The Conflict pdf

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