£20bn: Bill for Iraq and Afghan conflicts
The Scotsman
June 24, 2010
By Martyn McLaughlin
BRITAIN’s continuing military commitments in Afghanistan came under increased scrutiny yesterday after it emerged the cost of the nation’s presence there and in Iraq over the past decade has soared beyond £20 billion.
On the eve of an emergency Budget that promises painful public spending cuts, government figures revealed the vast bill for Britain’s ongoing fight against international terrorism.
With the death toll among our armed forces in Afghanistan one short of the grim milestone of 300, defence analysts warned the eventual military, diplomatic and reconstruction costs would be even higher.
Opponents of the wars condemned the “obscene” cost to taxpayers and pointed out that Britain’s involvement in Afghanistan remained very expensive, at a time when the government was having to make billions of pounds of savings.
The bill for the British presence on two front lines since the terrorist attacks of 11 September, 2001, includes £18bn for military operations, on top of the normal defence budget, as well as hundreds of millions of pounds on aid and security for UK officials.
But it does not cover expenses such as troops’ basic salaries or long-term care for the seriously wounded. …
Read on: http://news.scotsman.com/news/20bn-Bill-for-Iraq-and.6373477.jp
