The war in Iraq could ultimately cost well over a trillion U.S. dollars, according to a new U.S. official analysis.
That will at least double what has already been spent, said a report compiled by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) which was obtained by U.S. media Thursday.
The figure includes the estimated cost to leave some U.S. forces behind for at least several years to support the Iraqi government.
The report also predict other long-term costs, such as extended medical care and disability compensation for wounded soldiers and survivor's benefits for the families of the thousands of combat-zone fatalities.
The cost of the war in Iraq and other military operations has soared to the point where "we are now spending on these activities more than 10 percent of all the government's annually appropriated funds," said Robert A. Sunshine, CBO's assistant director for budget analysis.
Those costs -- both to sustain the current mission in Iraq and to pay longer-term "hidden" expenses like troop healthcare and replacement equipment -- are far more than U.S. officials advertised when Congress gave President George W. Bush the authority to launch the invasion in March 2003.
At the time, Lawrence Lindsey, one of Bush's top budget advisers, estimated in 2003 that the entire undertaking could cost as much as 200 billion dollars. He was later fired.
Source: Xinhua
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