The Economic Costs of the Iraq War: An Appraisal Three Years After the Beginning of the Conflict

This paper attempts to provide a more complete reckoning of the costs of the Iraq War, using standard economic and accounting/ budgetary frameworks. As of December 30, 2005, total spending for combat and support operations in Iraq is 251bn, and the CBO's estimates put the projected total direct costs at around 500bn. These figures, however, greatly underestimate the War's true costs.