A war waged by the United States against Iraq could cost between 50 billion and 60 billion US dollars, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
Mitchell Daniels, the director of the Office of Management and Budget of the White House, was quoted by the paper as saying the Bush administration has budgeted for both short-term and long-termmilitary campaigns against Iraq. The ultimate cost would depend onthe number of troops used and the length of the war.
The latest estimate is much below the amount the White House had initially projected.
Lawrence Lindsey, President George W. Bush's former chief economic adviser, estimated several months ago that a war with Iraq could cost between 1 and 2 percent of the US national gross domestic product (GDP), or 100 billion to 200 billion dollars.
The Gulf War in 1991 cost more than 60 billion US dollars, equal to about 80 billion dollars today. However, the cost of the last Gulf War were covered by many countries. A conflict with Iraqwould be paid for largely by the United States.