WASHINGTON, 4 September 2003 — The US military occupation of Iraq could cost from $8 billion to $29 billion annually, but the least expensive option would dramatically reduce the force, according to scenarios analyzed by the Congressional Budget Office.
Relying mostly on active-duty soldiers serving one-year tours, without expanding the military’s overall size, could cost from $8 billion to $12 billion yearly, the nonpartisan budget office said in a report released Tuesday.
To retain adequate levels of military readiness worldwide, that policy — which the Pentagon is now following — would force the United States to begin reducing its troop strength in Iraq below current levels by next March, the study said.
Under that scenario, the 180,000 American troops now in and around Iraq would have to be drawn down to 38,000-64,000 by the winter of 2004-2005, the analysis said.
The report comes with President Bush’s policies in Iraq under fire from critics who say American troops there are stretched thin and are suffering steadily growing, though still relatively small, numbers of casualties.
American officials also still are finding that many nations remain reluctant to send significant numbers of troops to Iraq. Many lawmakers of both parties are complaining about the impact that US involvement there will have on a federal budget already deeply in deficit.
The Bush administration says it is involved in a difficult, lengthy job of securing Iraq, which it says will be important to regional and worldwide security.
Some congressional aides said Tuesday that the administration was considering asking Congress this year for more money to cover US costs that could total tens of billions of dollars. But they and administration officials said no final decisions have been made.
Congress approved nearly $80 billion in April for US operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and worldwide efforts against terrorism.
If the Pentagon also drew more heavily on Marines and the National Guard for peacekeeping, the US force would total 67,000 to 106,000, the budget office report said. The annual occupation cost would run from $14 billion to $19 billion yearly, the study said.
The congressional study focused only on US military costs. It excluded cost estimates for rebuilding Iraq, which administration officials have said could be tens of billions of dollars.
