How We Must Fight To Give Away Money

The cost of the war to the U.K.:

In both countries the budgetary costs have been far higher than originally promised. At the onset of war the Blair government “prudently” set aside £1bn (€1.3bn) to cover the costs. But the UK has already spent over £9bn in Iraq alone. This does not include the huge “tail” in overall war costs, such as the impact of looking after the disabled, replenishing equipment and restoring the forces to pre-war strength.
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The House of Commons defence committee was stunned to discover last week that British spending in Iraq had shot up by 72 per cent during the past year, despite lower troop levels. In 2008 the number of British troops on the ground is scheduled to halve – but the bill will be only slightly lower than last year. This is due to the high fixed costs of keeping anyone there – in terms of security, fuel, medical care and repairing equipment. As long as 2,500 British troops remain in Basra, Britain can expect that the costs of Iraq will not drop appreciably and may yet increase.