How much has the Iraq war cost? July 2008 update
Published July 24, 2008 @ 07:45AM PT
by Travis Sharp (The Iraq Insider)
Download the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation's new July 2008 war costs fact sheet.
In June 2008, Congress passed, and President Bush signed into law, another $162 billion in funding for ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. With enactment of these funds, the Department of Defense will have enough money to keep war operations running until May or June of 2009 - when either Barack Obama or John McCain will be President.
With the passage of $162 billion in June 2008, total Iraq and Afghanistan war costs now stand at $872.6 billion. This total breaks down as follows:
This can be a lot of money to conceptualize, so here are some things to put it in perspective.
With $872.6 billion, the cost of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan so far, the United States could fund...
...a year's worth of health care for 117 million Americans ($7,439/person)
...one year of public elementary school for 116 million children ($7,500/child)
...four years of public university tuition for 35 million students ($6,185/student)
...145 billion mosquito nets to help stop malaria in the developing world ($6/net)
...4.6 billion laptops to promote literacy in the developing world ($188/laptop)
If you had an expense account that let you spend $1 million dollars per day...
...it would take 2,391 years to spend $872.6 billion, the cost of Iraq and Afghanistan so far.
The cost of Iraq and Afghanistan laid out end-to-end in $100 bills...
...would extend 846,157.6 miles – or just short of 34 times around the Earth's circumference.
The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost each American family of four $11,458.
Visit the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation's website for the latest Iraq and Afghanistan updates. You can also check out these recent analyses:
Jul 3, 2008 Historical Costs of Previous U.S. Wars
Jun 26, 2008 Iraqis Who Oppose the U.S.-Iraq Long-Term Agreement
Jun 25, 2008 GAO Says Bush Administration is Overstating Gains in Iraq
Jun 16, 2008 Despite Soaring Budgets, Pentagon's Weapons Acquisitions Process Falters
Jun 5, 2008 Building Human Security: Peacekeepers, Not Long-Term Pact, Should Replace U.N. Mandate in Iraq
Apr 15, 2008 Tying U.S. Defense Spending to GDP: Bad Logic, Bad Policy
Apr 9, 2008 Key Themes and Highlights from April 2008 Petraeus-Crocker Hearings
Mar 5, 2008 Problems with Using the Supplemental Budget Process to Fund Ongoing Military Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan
Mar 4, 2008 U.S. Arms Sales Agreements with the Middle East, 1999-2006
Mar 3, 2008 U.S. Arms Sales Agreements Worldwide, 1999-2006
Feb 25, 2008 U.S. Spending on Iraq and Afghanistan by Month, Week, Day, Hour, Minute, & Second
Feb 22, 2008 U.S. Military Spending vs. The World in 2008
Feb 20, 2008 2008-2009 U.S. Defense Spending Highest Since WWII, Tops Vietnam and Korea
Feb 20, 2008 U.S. Defense Spending, 2001-2009
Feb 15, 2008 Why Congress Should Press the Case for No Permanent Presence in Iraq
Feb 4, 2008 Comparing the Defense Share of the FY 2009 Discretionary Budget Request to Other Programs
Feb 4, 2008 Analysis of Fiscal Year 2009 Pentagon budget request
Jan 29, 2008 A Permanent Presence? Dangers of a Long-Term U.S. Security Commitment to Iraq
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