The Iraq escalator (monetary cost)

[Lasher]

CBO director Peter Orszag told members of the House Budget Committee that war costs are on track to approach $2.4 trillion over the next decade, even with an assumed draw-down of troops in five years. "Astonishing" and "staggering" was how lawmakers reacted to the new cost projections.

"Speculation" and "hypothetical" was how the White House brushed off the news, ever-averse to confronting the real cost of its war. This is the same administration, you'll recall, that in 2002 fired its top economic adviser, Lawrence Lindsey, after he disputed initial White House claims that the war would cost only $50 billion to $60 billion.

Supplemental budget requests and revisions every few months for tens of billions in military spending is this administration's tactic to prevent taxpayers from a getting a true sense of the cost.

The CBO forecast comes as Congress is reviewing yet another administration request for more money - an additional $46 billion - to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's on top of $150 billion already requested for fiscal year 2008, which began Oct. 1.

If the revised supplemental defense funds are approved by Congress, it would bring the total amount appropriated to fund the fighting to more than $800 billion. That's close to the price of the Korean and Vietnam conflicts combined.

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