WASHINGTON - US costs for the Iraq war will exceed $110 billion this fiscal year, approaching the record reached in the prior fiscal year, a top White House official said on Tuesday. “That number will end up being low,” White House budget director Rob Portman said.Iraq war spending hit an all-time high of $120 billion in fiscal year 2006 that ended on Sept. 30. Some media reports have said the war costs for 2007 could total around $170 billion. But Portman declined to give a precise figure.
The White House is scheduled to unveil its 2008 spending blueprint in early February. Along with the spending plan, the administration will offer a fresh request for money for the war and will provide updated forecasts for the budget deficit. Portman said that with the unveiling of the budget for 2008, the administration will provide “more information than we have in the past” on estimates for future war spending.
Portman declined to comment on the costs that would be involved if 20,000 additional troops are sent to Iraq in the near future. Media reports have said that option is under consideration by President George W. Bush, who will unveil an overhauled strategy for the war early in the new year.