Facts

Voting for cash for the war in Iraq is usually a bi-yearly event; Congress normally okays money for the the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as part of its yearly budget and then passes a second "supplemental" or "emergency" spending bill to top off the rest of the wars' spending needs. That'll change this year, as the president has requested funding to cover the costs of a year of war as part of the 2008 budget.

The last infusion of cash for the wars came in May 2007, when Congress approved $100 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon has asked for another $196, for 2008 - which Congress will debate and vote on the beginning of next year. (WP)

The total costs of war. With differing dollar amounts on the costs of Iraq bandied about by politicians and the press, it's not always easy to keep track of how much we're spending. To help clear the haze, citizenJoe offers a breakdown of numbers from, GlobalSecurity.org, the National Priorities Project, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, Congressional Budget Office (pdf), Congressional Research Service (pdf) and the Council on Foreign Relations. Sorry to say, they don't always add up, but they're generally in the same sports complex, if not ballpark.

• How much money Congress has approved so far for:

  • Iraq: $440-$483 billion. That includes:

    • $123-128 billion Congress approved in 2003,

    • $21 - 25 billion in tide-over funds approved in 2004,

    • $70 billion from funds approved in May 2005 (we're not including the $5 billion that went to "transforming" the military); (WP)

    • $50 billion (about) approved in December 2005 as part of the 2006 defense budget bill,

    • A ballpark figure of $60 billion in June 2006. Military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan received $66 billion together - but cJ couldn't find a break-down of how much went to each.

    • Another ballpark number of $60 billion in September 2006 (again, the papers reported $70 for the combined wars). (WP)

    • Yet again, the papers report a $100 billion funding bill for the combined wars in May, 2007. We'll call it $90 billion for Iraq. (WP)

    • Note: a July, 2006 number from the CBO put the total cost of the war up to July 2006 at $290 billion. A June, 2007 CRS report (pdf) estimates a total of $450 billion has been authorized for the Iraq war.

  • Afghanistan: To be frank, we lost track. Luckily, the CRS didn't: in June 2007 they estimated that the Afghanistan war and related counterterrorism missions have cost $127 billion. (CRS - pdf)

• The next infusion of cash:

  • In February, 2007 the president requested $142b to cover the war's costs in 2008 - but later upped the ante to $196b. Congress will likely okay the bulk of the funding in the early part of '08, although they may approve a $50b "bridge fund" before they take off for Christmas. (WP) (NYT).
    

• How much a year (again from CRS - pdf):

  • $53 billion in 2003

  • $76 billion in 2004

  • $85 billion in 2005

  • $102 billion in 2006

  • $135 billion in 2007 (projected)

Updated November 11, 2007

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