Estimated Costs of a Potential Conflict with Iraq

This report is in response to Congress's request of September 20, 2002, for estimates of the cost of activities related to possible military operations in Iraq. The Congressional Budget Office's (CBO's) research shows that estimates of the total cost of a military conflict with Iraq a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Schmit, Matthew, Newman, David, Kiley, Greg, Rehmus, Paul, Talaber, Adam
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
ARMY DIVISIONS
CARRIER BATTLE GROUPS
COST ESTIMATES
DEPLOYMENT
DIVISION LEVEL ORGANIZATIONS
ECONOMIC FORECASTING
Economics and Cost Analysis
FIGHTER AIRCRAFT
FORCE OPTIONS
HEAVY AIR OPTION
HEAVY GROUND OPTION
INCREMENTAL COSTS
IRAQ
MEF(MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCES)
MILITARY BUDGETS
MILITARY FORCE LEVELS
Military Forces and Organizations
MILITARY FORCES(UNITED STATES)
MILITARY OCCUPATION
MILITARY OPERATIONS
Military Operations, Strategy and Tactics
OPERATIONS SUPPORT
PERSONNEL SUPPORT
POSTWAR OPERATIONS
RECONSTRUCTION
REDEPLOYMENT COSTS
TACTICAL AIR WINGS
TACTICAL AIRCRAFT
TACTICAL FIGHTER WINGS
UNCERTAINTY
WAR POTENTIAL
WING LEVEL ORGANIZATIONS
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Description
Summary:This report is in response to Congress's request of September 20, 2002, for estimates of the cost of activities related to possible military operations in Iraq. The Congressional Budget Office's (CBO's) research shows that estimates of the total cost of a military conflict with Iraq and such a conflict's aftermath are highly uncertain. They depend on many factors that are unknown at this time, including the size of the actual force that is deployed, the strategy to be used, the duration of the conflict, the number of casualties, the equipment lost, and the need for reconstruction of Iraq's infrastructure. Of the many options being discussed for force structures, CBO examined two representative examples that vary in their emphasis on ground or air forces. Under the assumptions of those examples, CBO estimated that the incremental costs of deploying a force to the Persian Gulf (the costs that would be incurred above those budgeted for routine operations) would be between $9 billion and $13 billion. Prosecuting a war would cost between $6 billion and $9 billion a month, although CBO cannot estimate how long such a war is likely to last. After hostilities end, the costs to return U.S. forces to their home bases would range between $5 billion and $7 billion. Further, the incremental cost of an occupation following combat operations could vary from about $1 billion to $4 billion a month.