Cost of occupation: £5m a day - human cost extra

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,999719,00.html

Up to £150m a month to keep troops in Iraq adds to strains on government

Richard Norton-Taylor and Larry Elliott
Thursday July 17, 2003
The Guardian

The cost to British taxpayers of invading and occupying Iraq will be far in excess of £5bn, with £1bn being spent even before the first shot was fired, defence sources said yesterday.
This far exceeds the size of the special "war chest" which the Treasury has offered.

With the government already budgeting for a £27bn deficit this year, some estimates put the cost of maintaining 11,000 troops in Iraq and the Gulf region at about £150m a month.

That would put the post-war cost of keeping troops in the region for two years - the absolute minimum according to defence thinking - at £3.6bn.

The total estimated pre- and post-war costs - £4.6bn - do not include the expense of the fighting itself, defence sources admitted, and will put added strain on the public finances in the run-up to the next election, when Labour was hoping to use any spare cash to top up spending on schools and hospitals.

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[JaySherman]

1. Power you get from

controlling a population through fear and lies while you rob the treasury, plunder the oil, and kill thousands:

Priceless