U.S. Army 1st Lt. Andrew Osborne makes plans with Iraqi police officers to visit a neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, to introduce themselves to some of the residents, March 16, 2009. Osborne, a platoon leader , is assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's Company B 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kani RonningenFrom The Washington Post:
Expenses May Rise From Wartime Levels
The removal of about 140,000 U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011 will be a "massive and expensive effort" that is likely to increase rather than lower Iraq-related expenditures during the withdrawal and for several years after its completion, government investigators said in a report released yesterday.
"Although reducing troops would appear to lower costs," the Government Accountability Office said, withdrawals from previous conflicts have shown that costs more often rise in the near term. The price of equipment repairs and replacements, along with closing or turning over 283 U.S. military installations in Iraq, "will likely be significant," the GAO reported.
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My Comment: Iraq was never a cheap project to begin with. It was and is an expensive undertaking that will be with the American taxpayer for a very long time. The price for the Iraqis is even higher, but if in the end some good comes out of this conflict and the Iraqis have some semblance of a just and stable government ..... I would have to say that (for the Iraqis) it was worth it.