Washington – The Bush administration is spending about $7 billion a month to wage the war on terror, and costs could total $570 billion by the end of 2010, assuming troops are gradually brought home, a congressional report estimates.
The paper by the Congressional Research Service underscores how the price tag has been gradually rising for the war in Iraq.
A year ago, the Pentagon was calculating its average monthly costs in that conflict at below $5 billion – an amount the research service says has grown close to $7 billion.
Those expenses are growing even as recovery costs from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and mammoth federal deficits are intensifying pressure on the government to find ways to save money.
A separate study by the Congressional Budget Office found it will be difficult for the Pentagon to sustain current troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan without rotating troops into the war zone more frequently and using more National Guard brigades.
And even those steps will not be adequate long-term solutions.
The budget office study echoed reports suggesting that if current combat demands continue, the Army will have problems keeping enough soldiers trained.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the administration has allocated about $361 billion for military operations, reconstruction and other programs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
