Blood and treasure

July 6, 2007

When it comes to U.S. losses in Iraq, obviously the top concern is the tragic rate of fatalities and casualties. Nothing else comes close.

But if we’re going to consider the latter half of the “blood and treasure” equation, Noah Shachtman reminds us today that the financial cost of the war is soaring.

It’s not just the troops that are surging. War costs are up for American operations in Iraq and Afghanistan* — way up, more than a third higher than last year. In the first half of this fiscal year, the Defense Department’s “average monthly obligations for contracts and pay is running about $12 billion per month, well above the $8.7 billion in FY2006,” says a new report, obtained by DANGER ROOM, from the non-partisan Congressional Research Service.

Additional war costs for the next 10 years could total about $472 billion if troop levels fall to 30,000 by 2010, or $919 billion if troop levels fall to 70,000 by about 2013. If these estimates are added to already appropriated amounts, total funding about $980 billion to $1.4 trillion by 2017.

No matter how one looks at it, “surging” ain’t cheap.

Update: Noah emails to note that the war costs include both Iraq and Afghanistan. The post has been updated to reflect the correction. The rate of increase and the broader point, of course, remain the same.

it’s okay. i’m sure the chinese will be happy to keep bankrolling us.
at least until the army breaks next year.

  • Remember when the Bushies said in 2003 that the rebuilding of Iraq would only cost $1.7 Billion, total?

    TED KOPPEL
    All right, this is the first. I mean, when you talk about 1.7, you’re not suggesting that the rebuilding of Iraq is gonna be done for $1.7 billion?

    ANDREW NATSIOS
    Well, in terms of the American taxpayers contribution, I do, this is it for the US. The rest of the rebuilding of Iraq will be done by other countries who have already made pledges, Britain, Germany, Norway, Japan, Canada, and Iraqi oil revenues, eventually in several years, when it’s up and running and there’s a new government that’s been democratically elected, will finish the job with their own revenues. They’re going to get in $20 billion a year in oil revenues. But the American part of this will be 1.7 billion. We have no plans for any further-on funding for this.

    …

    TED KOPPEL
    as far as reconstruction goes, the American taxpayer will not be hit for more than $1.7 billion no matter how long the process takes?

    ANDREW NATSIOS
    That is our plan and that is our intention. And these figures, outlandish figures I’ve seen, I have to say, there’s a little bit of hoopla involved in this…

    http://www.fas.org/sgp/temp/natsios042303.html

    Hoopla… Got it.

    We’re now spending $1.7 Billion every four days. And the true financial cost is actually going to be a lot higher with veteran care costs. And I’m sure the Bushies want us to put all that on our kids’ credit cards, and asking the rich people to give back their tax cuts would be an undue burden.

  • Somebody ought to take a look at where all that money’s going, though. It’s not like it’s passing out of American hands, never to be seen again. I’d be willing to bet most of it is merely changing hands, from the American taxpayer to Lockheed Martin or Halliburton or whatever. It’s kind of like the foreign aid the U.S. gives to Israel, then accepts back again as payment for Apache Helicopters and cluster bombs, that sort of thing. It’s not so much an expenditure as a reallocation. Count on it, if that much money was being borrowed every month and then paid to outside agencies not under U.S. control, the war would have shut down years ago.

  • Well, now that people are onto them, they’re going to milk these ‘private contracting’ and other dollars until they can’t anymore.

    Similar to most any other activity undertaken by this Administration that requires public funds—they’ve got their arms elbow-deep into the cookie jar of America’s dollars, and they’re going to keep digging into it, grabbing wads and wads of cash, and keep paying their corporate buddies until they no longer can.

  • A couple of months ago Al Rasheed Capital of the Blog Great Baghdad posted about the Iraqi Army’s decision to replace its AK-47’s with American-made M-16’s and M-4 carbines.

    Almost every Iraqi male over the age of six knows how to maintain and operate the AK. It works even in the dirtiest or wettest environments. because it’s much simpler mechanically than the M-16/M-4 and it’s built to far looser tolerances.

    If the Iraqi Army actually ever does become capable of securing Iraq, or even of maintaining security in Iraq, then it can buy M-16’s or whatever else it wants. To make the task of training and equipping the Iraqis more complicated and costly at this point seems foolhardy.

    But, it does put a few more bucks into the pockets of the military-industrial complex and with Bushco that’s all that counts.

  • No matter how one looks at it, “surging” ain’t cheap. — CB

    Maybe it’s time to stop referring to “the surge” and start calling it “the bleed.”

  • This isn’t a surge, it’s a ‘splurge’.
    Look who we’re paying. Everyone is trying to get in on this “cash cow” before it dries up some. It’s the last minute “get as much as you can” before the spigot is turned off. So rates increase for everything as well as salaries. The prices are sky-rocketing and the goods are being skimped on. If the war profiteers could get away with it an egg would be $50 bucks, another $50 if you want it cooked. The plate is $45 and the fork $15. and because of kick backs, future employment opportunities and political favors there is no one to say, “Screw you”.

    The Bush administration did what they set out to do, rob the treasury of every dime it could squeeze out of it. Profits are way out of whack as the republicans have sold our country down the river to all their corporate buddies. The war profiteers equate treasure way above blood, in fact they look at that statistic before seeing how many have died. They don’t even keep track of how many contractors have died or for that matter how many Iraqis. Though they know, they don’t want us to know how much money has really been spent and where.
    Republicans and republican ideals always drain our economy and this time they’ve gone too far to the point that it should be considered treason. They’ve broken our entire nation for profit.

  • Bankrupting the Federal Government is contrary to National Security. What hypocrisy. You don’t hear about too many “fiscal conservatives” nowadays, except for Ron Paul.

    The American Corporate Empire is enthroned and what the hell are the Dems really doing about? Sorry, but the whole thing is unconscionable.

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