REPORT: At $648 Billion, Cost Of Iraq War Almost Equal To Vietnam

Think Progress
Saturday, July 26, 2008

In his 1999 book, A Charge To Keep, President Bush said he had “learned the lessons of Vietnam” about “never again ask[ing] the military to fight a political war.” After launching the Iraq war, in April 2004, Bush rejected the analogy that Iraq was turning into a quagmire like Vietnam:

Q: How do you answer the Vietnam comparison?

BUSH: I think the analogy is false.

Last August, however, President Bush reversed course and embraced the Vietnam analogy, stating Vietnam taught us that “the price of America’s withdrawal” is steep and painful.

In a new report, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reveals that the real similarity between Iraq and Vietnam is in the price of staying. In constant FY2008 dollars, the Vietnam war cost the U.S. $686 billion. The Iraq war, at just over five years old, is priced at $648 billion:

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CRS notes, “All estimates are of the costs of military operations only and do not reflect costs of veterans benefits, interest on war-related debt, or assistance to allies.” Thus, the actual costs of the Iraq war are likely much greater, as Nobel Prize economist Joe Stiglitz reported in his book, The Three Trillion Dollar War.

It is unlikely, however, that the White House is concerned about these mounting costs. In October, the CBO conservatively said the wars may cost $2 trillion over the next decade. “I’m not worried about the number,” White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said in response, calling the estimate “pure speculation.”

Indeed, “the price of America’s withdrawal” from Iraq may be an alternative that Bush should strongly consider.

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5 Responses to “REPORT: At $648 Billion, Cost Of Iraq War Almost Equal To Vietnam”

1. AJM Says:
   July 26th, 2008 at 9:50 am

   What an astonishing figure!

2. Zekosaurus Says:
   July 26th, 2008 at 4:23 pm

   The cost in lives mustn’t be forgotten. We are told that over four thousand American lives have been lost but Alex has mentioned in the past that these deaths are only those who have died within 24 hours of injury. I think he said that the total number including those who died after being flown to military hospitals in Germany is 25,000 but this was over a year ago. It must be significantly higher now. I can’t remember how many wounded but I think it’s more than 25,000.

   Then there is the Iraqi body count. The extreme estimate is a million and Kucinich is using that number in his impeachment proceedings. The conservative estimate is 100,000 so the number has to be somewhere in the middle. Some people say that there will be a bloodbath if we pull out but there has already been a blood bath and I can’t imagine that a post occupation blood bath can be worse.

   It’s way past time to leave.

3. Gregory Fegel Says:
   July 27th, 2008 at 2:43 am

   $648 billion. Mission accomplished.

4. Gregory Fegel Says:
   July 27th, 2008 at 2:47 am

   Zekosaurus:
   Until the USA removes all of its troops, it is the USA’s bloodbath. After all of the US troops are removed, then it becomes Iraq’s bloodbath.

5. alex hidel Says:
   July 27th, 2008 at 11:25 am

   It may take another war with perhaps Iran to completely wipe out the middle class and American Dream. What a bargain !