The economic costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are
estimated to total US$1.6 trillion - roughly double the amount the
White House has requested thus far, according to a new report by
the US Congress' Joint Economic Committee.
The report released yesterday attempted to put a price tag on
the two conflicts, including "hidden" costs such as interest
payments on the money borrowed to pay for the wars, lost
investment, the expense of long-term health care for injured
veterans and the cost of oil market disruptions.
The US$1.6 trillion figure, for the period from 2002 to 2008,
translates into a cost of US$20,900 for a family of four, the
report said. The Bush administration has requested US$804 billion
for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined, the report stated.
For the Iraq War only, total economic costs were estimated at
US$1.3 trillion for the period from 2002 to 2008. That would cost a
family of four US$16,500, the report said.
Future economic costs would be even greater. The report
estimated that both wars would cost US$3.5 trillion between 2003
and 2017. Under that scenario, it would cost a family of four
US$46,400, the report said.
Oil prices have surged since the start of the war, from about
US$37 a barrel to well over US$90 a barrel in recent weeks, the
report said. "Consistent disruptions from the war have affected oil
prices," although the Iraq War is not responsible for all of the
increase in oil prices, the report said.
Still, the report estimated that high oil prices have hit US
consumers in the pocket, transferring "approximately US$124 billion
from US oil consumers to foreign (oil) producers" from 2003 to
2008, the report said.
(China Daily November 14, 2007)
