Afghan war costs
now outpace Iraq's

Updated 1d 14h ago

By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY

President Obama made clear Wednesday that the U.S. presence in Afghanistan would remain long after troops are withdrawn, a process he hopes to begin in July 2011.

	WAR EXPENDITURES

WASHINGTON — The monthly cost of the war in
Afghanistan, driven by troop increases and fighting
on difficult terrain, has topped Iraq costs for the
first time since 2003 and shows no sign of letting
up.

Pentagon spending in February, the most recent
month available, was $6.7 billion in Afghanistan
compared with $5.5 billion in Iraq. As recently as
fiscal year 2008, Iraq was three times as expensive;
in 2009, it was twice as costly.

The shift is occurring because the Pentagon is
adding troops in Afghanistan and withdrawing them
from Iraq. And it's happening as the cumulative cost
of the two wars surpasses $1 trillion, including
spending for veterans and foreign aid. Those costs
could put increased pressure on President Obama
and Congress, given the nation's $12.9 trillion debt.

"The overall costs are a function, in part, of the
number of troops," says Linda Bilmes, an expert on
 wartime spending at Harvard University. "The costs
are also a result of the intensity of operations, and
the number of different places that we have our
troops deployed."

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Obama made clear Wednesday that the U.S. role in
Afghanistan would remain long after troops are
withdrawn, a process planned to begin in July 2011.
"This is a long-term partnership," he said during a
news conference with Afghan President Hamid
Karzai.

Continued American support will be crucial as U.S.
troop levels and costs in Afghanistan escalate:

•The number of U.S. servicemembers in Afghanistan
has risen to 87,000, on top of 47,000 from 44 other
countries. At the same time, the number of U.S.
servicemembers in Iraq has dropped to 94,000. By
next year, Afghanistan is to have 102,000 U.S.
servicemembers, Iraq 43,000.

•Afghanistan will cost nearly $105 billion in the
2010 fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, including most
of $33 billion in additional spending requested by
Obama and pending before Congress. Iraq will cost
about $66 billion. In fiscal 2011, Afghanistan is
projected to cost $117 billion, Iraq $46 billion. To
date, Pentagon spending in Iraq has reached $620 
billion, compared with $190 billion in Afghanistan.

•Costs per servicemember in Afghanistan have been
roughly double what they are in Iraq since 2005.
That is due to lower troop levels, Afghanistan's
landlocked location, lack of infrastructure, high cost
of fuel and less reliable security. "The cost just
cascades," says Todd Harrison of the Center for
Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. "That's always
been an issue in Afghanistan."

"Iraq, logistically, is much easier," says Lawrence
Korb of the Center for American Progress. "You get
the stuff to Kuwait and just drive it up the road."