Iraq war could cost up to two trillion dollars: study

[leftchick]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060110/wl_afp/usiraqcosts_060110082736

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."

[Scooter24]

1. Ugh...

:grr:

[salin]

2. But the current head of the World Back kept saying it would pay

for itself. Great financial genious :eyes: Inspires so much confidence in his current role. Not.

[salin]

3. self-edit -

oops double post

[maddezmom]

4. duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2024181