Budget office reports war costs could reach $2.4 trillion by 2017

from the story at governmentexecutive.com:

Even if U.S. troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan are reduced by more than two-thirds from the average numbers, the cost to the taxpayers of those conflicts could reach $2.4 trillion in 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Wednesday.
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Budget ranking member Paul Ryan, R-Wis., did not challenge Orszag's numbers, but said that the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, when measured by the percentage of the gross national product going to defense-related spending, is low compared to previous conflicts and the average during the Cold War. He agreed with Spratt and the witnesses that the war funding should be part of the regular budget, but noted that, despite their protests, the Democrats have continued to approve the supplementals.

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