Budget chief: 2007's Iraq war costs will exceed Bush administration's projected $110 billion

[DeepModem Mom]

USA Today: Budget chief: 2007's war costs will exceed projected $110 billion
Posted 12/19/2006
By Barbara Hagenbaugh, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The Iraq war will cost more this year than the $110 billion the Bush administration had forecast, the head of the White
House budget office said Tuesday.

Office of Management and Budget Director Rob Portman said there was no firm estimate of the costs for fiscal 2007, which began Oct. 1. When he was asked if the $110 billion estimate was now too low, Portman said, "Yes."

He said the final figure "depends on a lot of things that are not yet decided. One is the policy moving forward."

Portman's statement adds fuel to speculation that the war costs will top last year's record $120 billion. Lawmakers have already approved $70 billion in supplemental spending for the Iraq war this year. The White House will issue a request for supplemental funding for the war in February.

A number of lawmakers, including Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., have said they expect the supplemental request to exceed $100 billion, putting the total cost for the year at more than $170 billion.

"We'll review it and scrutinize it very closely," Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., the incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said at a news conference Tuesday of the supplemental request....

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-12-19-war-costs_x.htm

[SpiralHawk]

1. "But on the bright side, oil & munitions profits are way up." - Republicons

"Hooray for us and our MASSIVE WAR PROFITS. Too bad about your kids in uniform."

- Commander AWOL Bush & VP Dick "Five Deferments" Cheney
& Allied Republicon Chickenhawk War Profiteers

[Kikosexy2]

2. STOP FUNDING...

THIS DISASTER!!..

[wavesofeuphoria]

3. How is the money being spent? What is it being spent on?

Does anyone anywhere have an accounting of this at all? And can we see it??

I am having trouble understanding where and how the money is being spent .....

[Eugene]

4. K&R - Portman's smoke and mirrors act didn't last 24 hours.

170 BILLION DOLLARS!!! :mad:

That is a mind-boggling price tag for a war
that was supposed to pay for itself.

[Babel_17]

5. True war "costs" are seldom mentioned

No, I'm not referring to the horrendous waste of human lives.

I'm speaking of the mundane costs that are harder to pin down but are still all too real.

So much material and equipment is going to being listed as "scrapped" or "missing" when the final accounting is done.

The human costs to our people are also being mostly ignored.

[WestMichRad]

6. Kucinich is absolutely right

The only way, it seems, that an end will come to this madness is when Congress terminates funding for it.

If only our Congresscritters had the chutzpah to do it.

[Mugsy]

7. (VIDEO) But, but... the war is only supposed to cost 1.7Billion???

I'm CERTAIN they assured us the war would only cost $1.7B and paid for with Iraqi oil revenues???

Did someone LIE to me?

I remember watching this interview with USAID's Andrew Natsio when it was on Nightline:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMjskIV1Oxs