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US War Costs in Iraq Up

Washington (23 January 2008) Reuters- The Congressional Budget Office said in a report released on Wednesday that Iraq war funding, which averaged about $93 billion a year from 2003 through 2005, rose to $120 billion in 2006 and $171 billion in 2007 and President George W. Bush has asked for $193 billion in 2008.

Since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Congress has written checks for $691 billion to pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and such related activities as Iraq reconstruction, the CBO said. Of the total, the CBO estimated that $440 billion had been spent on fighting in Iraq.

All of the Iraq and Afghanistan war money - about $11 billion a month - is being put on a government credit card. U.S. government debt stands at more than $9 trillion, up from around $5.6 trillion in January 2001. The CBO estimated that the interest payments on the debt would total $234 billion this year. Interest payments will total an estimated $2.7 trillion over the next decade, the CBO said.