Iraq war could cost up to two trillion dollars: study

[tocqueville]

Tue Jan 10, 12:13 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Iraq war will likely cost the United States between one and two trillion dollars, despite earlier assurances by the White House that these expenses would be manageable, according to a new study co-authored by a Nobel Prize-winning economist.

The research made public Monday by Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University, former chief economist at the World Bank, and economy professor Linda Bilmes of Harvard University, argues current official assessments of the war cost fail to consider key expenses likely to dog the US budget for years to come.

They include rising medical expenses to treat more than 16,000 wounded soldiers, accelerated depreciation of military hardware on the battlefield and the ripple effect on higher oil prices on the US economy, which in part can be blamed on the military venture.

"Even taking a conservative approach, we have been surprised at how large they are," Stiglitz and Bilmes wrote of the costs of the war. "We can state, with some degree of confidence, that they exceed a trillion dollars."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060110/ts_alt_afp/usiraqcosts_060110170127

[ThomWV]

1. Not if we left tomorrow

Wouldn't have to cost another dime.

[stepnw1f]

2. And Guess WHere That Money Comes from

Are the rich paying for any of it. If I'm not mistaken, most wealthy people who supposedly support Bush's actions to be in Iraq, are Republicans. Yet they don't sacrifice a damn thing.

I call them all murderers and traitors.

[Double T]

3. How stupid are we going to let this country be..........

bushco has led us into the most colossal mess this country has ever been involved in. Time to gather the evidence for ALL of the crimes and commence impeachment.

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. Clearly there were many different and more effective ways to

deal with Iraq other than an endless brute force military occupation. It's the enduring legacy of the neocon dimwit theory put to practice.