US costs for war top $320 billion

The US has spent more on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan than on all its foreign wars up to 1939, following the passage of a bill allowing $66 billion in new funding for the Pentagon. Spending on the three-year war in Iraq now totals $320 billion, with a further $89 billion being spent on operations in Afghanistan. The House of Representatives passed the final version of the bill on June 13 by a 351-67 vote, after minimal debate the night before. The total value of the legislation, including non-war spending, amounted to $94.5 billion. US involvement in the first world war, the Spanish-American War, the Mexican War, the War of 1812 and the Revolutionary War cost a combined total of $373 billion, against the $409 billion spent on Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. The 1861-65 Civil War cost a further $66 billion. The spending on the two main fronts of the "war on terror" is also comparable to the amount of money generated by those countries' economies since 2003. Iraq's gross domestic product amounts to $90 billion a year and Afghanistan generates $20 billion in annual GDP. The spending bill has caused rancor in Washington, since it groups war spending with money dedicated to Hurricane Katrina relief and other emergency management. Members of Congress have argued that this disguises the true cost of US wars and makes it harder for the House and Senate to block or modify such bills. Washington's anti-terrorism spending has become of increasing concern in the US as many feel positive outcomes from the conflicts have failed to materialize. The former World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz has claimed that the total cost of the Iraq War could amount to $2 trillion, including lost productivity and casualties caused by troops leaving the US economy to fight. Last month, a Washington defense research group said that secret spending by the Pentagon was worth $30 billion, the highest level of such spending since the Cold War.