IPS: Cost of Terror War Hits 430 Billion US dollars

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Cost of Terror War Hits 430 Billion US dollars

Washington's self-styled "global war on terror" has cost the country at least 430 billion dollars over the past five years in military and diplomatic efforts, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the watchdog arm of the U.S. Congress. The GAO warns that future costs may be difficult to estimate because of irregularities in how the Pentagon does its accounting and because of unforeseen events in Iraq and in Afghanistan. The report comes before the fifth anniversary of the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, which kick-started the U.S. war on terror.

the money spent so far could have helped fund employer health insurance for some 107.5 million U.S. citizens, more than double the estimated number of people without health coverage. The figures are also notable because before the March 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, top top officials in the George W. Bush administration said that they expected the invasion not to burden the U.S. budget and predicted that Iraqi oil sales would pay for reconstruction and some expenses associated with military operations. However, today, oil production remains far below the prewar level of about 2.5 million barrels per day.