Human & economic cost of Iraq war

WATCH VIDEO

Source: CCTV.com | 03-19-2008 09:08

Five years after the start of the US-led invasion in Iraq, the human and economic toll for the United States continues to grow. And while the total number of US troops in Iraq is shrinking, thousands still remain.

Five years after the start of the US-led invasion in Iraq, the human and economic toll for the United States continues to grow. (CCTV.com)

Nearly 4,000 US soldiers have lost their lives in Iraq, while close to 60,000 others have been wounded.

Thousands of additional troops were sent into central Iraq last year.

The economic toll has also increased substantially, with some lawmakers saying that the war costs 12 billion dollars a month.

According to some estimates, the war to date has cost over 500 billion dollars.

Lawrence J. Korb, Former US Asst. Secretart of Defense, said, "Well, the economic cost is going to be tremendous but the most important cost is the human cost; not only American lives, close to 4,000, American wounded 30,000, American soldiers, marines with mental problems hundreds of thousands but maybe several hundred thousand Iraqis dead. Now, the financial cost for the United States, by the time all of the cost of the war are paid is going to be close to three trillion dollars, which is twice the Gross Domestic Product of Canada."

Meanwhile, people on the streets of Washington have mixed views on the human and economic toll from the war.

Jerry Boyd, said, "I think that the human cost is very high and that in this case the cost exceeded the cause."

Erin Seetin, said, "Even though it's costing a lot of money now, I think in the long run it's going to be a good thing."

US President George W. Bush argued recently that removing former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power was the right thing to do.

And the US Congress passed legislation in December, allocating an additional 70 billion dollars to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei