Don't you remember, how much the Bush Administration stated the actual costs of the war would be, how long it would last?
July 11, 2002
PBS Wide Angle
Richard Perle : “Well, first of all, Iraq is a very wealthy country. Enormous oil reserves. They can finance, largely finance the reconstruction of their own country. And I have no doubt that they will…So I don't think we need the Europeans and their bank accounts.”
September 2002
What would war with Iraq cost?
In September (2002), White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mitch Daniels disputed an estimate by Bush economic adviser Larry Lindsey -- who has since left the White House -- that war with Iraq could cost $200 billion.
Daniels said he believes Lindsey's estimate was "the upper end of a hypothetical," Duffy said. Daniels told The New York Times in an interview published Tuesday (December 31, 2002) that such a conflict could cost $50 billion to $60 billion -- the price tag of the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
January 2, 2003
What would war with Iraq cost?
“I hope we're not headed to war in Iraq," said President Bush.
In September 2002, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mitch Daniels disputed an estimate by Bush economic adviser Larry Lindsey -- who has since left the White House -- that war with Iraq could cost $200 billion.”
“Daniels said he believes Lindsey's estimate was ‘the upper end of a hypothetical,’ Trent Duffy, an Office of Management and Budget spokesman, said.
"He (Mitch Daniels) said it could -- could -- be $60 billion," Trent Duffy, an Office of Management and Budget spokesman, said. "It is impossible to know what any military campaign would ultimately cost. The only cost estimate we know of in this arena is the Persian Gulf War, and that was a $60 billion event.
January 19, 2003
Secretary Rumsfeld Media Stakeout
Q: Mr. Secretary, on Iraq, how much money do you think the Department of Defense would need to pay for a war with Iraq?
Rumsfeld: Well, the Office of Management and Budget, has come up come up with a number that's something under $50 billion for the cost.
January 29, 2003
DoD News Briefing - Secretary Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: "His regime has the design for a nuclear weapon; it was working on several different methods of enriching uranium, and recently was discovered seeking significant quantities of uranium from Africa. The regime plays host to terrorists, including al Qaeda, as the President indicated."
“The cost was mentioned here, and that is not something that one ought to worry about, because the cost of 9/11 was so much greater than the cost of a conflict in Iraq that it dwarfs it… and you can't know, because you can't know if it's going to last four days, four weeks or four months, so when someone speculates that it could cost as much as -- I think they said $47 billion…”
February 7, 2003
Rumsfeld Holds Town Hall Meeting at Aviano Air Base, Italy
“…it is not knowable if force will be used, but if it is to be used, it is not knowable how long that conflict would last. It could last, you know, six days, six weeks. I doubt six months.”