Daily Almanac for
May 15, 2008
Info search tips
Bio search tips

Estimated War-Related Costs, Iraq and Afghanistan

According to the Center for Defense Information, the estimated cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan varies dramatically depending on what federal agency is doing the reporting. The Congressional Research Service (see their table below) concludes that the total cost of the wars thus far (through FY 2007) has been $448.6 billion, while the Congressional Budget Office puts it at $463 billion, the Government Accountability Office estimates $447.8 billion, and the Department of Defense lowballs it at $426.5 billion—a range of figures varying by more than $20 billion. One reason for such discrepancies is that most war-related costs are not included in the actual U.S. Defense Budget but are submitted over the course of the fiscal year in the form of “supplemental appropriations” and “bridge funds,” which, according to the Congressional Budget Office “do not provide enough detail to determine how…funds for operations in Iraq and the war on terrorism have been obligated.”

  In billions of budgeted dollars
Operation FY
2001+ 2002
FY
20031
FY
20042
FY
20053
FY
2006
FY
2007
Total
Iraq   $53.0 $75.9 $84.6 $101.9 $133.2 $448.6
Afghanistan 20.8 14.7 14.5 20.9 19.1 36.8 126.8
Enhanced security 13.0 8.0 3.7 2.1 0.8 0.4 28.0
Unable to allocate   5.5         5.5
Totals $33.8 $81.1 $94.1 $107.6 $121.8 $170.4 $608.8
1. Includes $5.5 billion of $7.1 billion appropriated in DOD's FY2003 Appropriations Act (P.L. 107-48) for the global war on terror that CRS cannot allocate and DOD cannot track.
2. Of the $25 billion provided in Title IX of the FY2005 DOD appropriation bill, CRS includes $2 billion in FY2004 when it was obligated and the remaining $23 billion in FY2005. Because Congress made the funds available in FY2004, CBO and OMB score all $25 billion in FY2004.
3. Includes funds in the FY2007 Supplemental (H.R. 2206/P.L. 110-28), Title IX, P.L. 109-289, FY2007 DOD Appropriations Act (H.R. 5631) designated for war and funds for other agencies in H.J. Res 20, P.L. 110-50, the year-long Continuing Resolution. VA Medical estimates reflect VA FY2008 budget materials and CRS estimates. Amounts for foreign and diplomatic operations reflects State Department figures.
Source: “The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11,” Amy Belasco, Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, RL33110, p. CRS-6); and Center for Defense Information, “Defense Budget Tutorial: So, You Think You Know the Cost of the Wars?” Web: www.cdi.org.


Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

American Prisoners of War American Wars
    • Cite
    • Print
    • Bookmark

Premium Partner Content
HighBeam Research

Related content from HighBeam Research on: Estimated War-Related Costs, Iraq and Afghanistan

Additional search results provided by HighBeam Research, LLC. © Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.