24 Guesstimates

US war costs report 'incorrect'.

Republican lawmakers have demanded that Democrats retract a report which says the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are costing double what was thought.

Senator Sam Brownback and Congressman Jim Saxton said the study had "many factual errors" and should not stand.

It said "hidden costs" had pushed the total to about $1.5 trillion - nearly twice the requested $804bn (£402bn).

Higher oil prices, the cost of care for wounded veterans and the economic cost of pulling reservists from their jobs were taken into account in reaching the new total, the report said.

Some analysts questioned some of the figures, saying they were speculative.

Mr Brownback and Mr Saxton said that "at least 24 multibillion dollar mistakes" had been amended on the web version of the report by Wednesday.

The Democratic authors of the War at Any Price? report calculate that between 2002 and 2008 the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan will have cost the average US family of four about $20,900.

It cites costs such as interest payments on money borrowed from abroad to pay for the wars, lost investment in US businesses, and the cost of oil market disruptions.

Its authors estimate that both wars could cost a total of $3.5 trillion over the next decade.

------ What? You mean to tell me that democrats/progressives spin and twist and speculate like BushCo does?