A war with Iraq will cost US taxpayers US$10 billion the first month, and US$8 billion every month after the initial attack, the Congressional Budget Office said in a report on federal spending plans.
President George W. Bush has resisted putting a price on the conflict, saying in a press conference Thursday that the White House would present the cost of the war to the public "at the appropriate time" in supplemental legislation.
The benefits of an invasion "if, in fact, we go forward and are successful, are also immeasurable," Bush told a reporter at the briefing after declining to state a dollar figure. "How do you measure the benefit of freedom in Iraq?"
Projections on the costs of a conflict are politically sensitive for Bush because taxpayers are struggling with a flagging economy at home that lost 308,000 jobs last month, the most since the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Many state governments are considering higher taxes to avoid cutting services as they face a collective budget shortfall estimated by a legislators' group to be more than US$112 billion.
Tensions over Iraq also sent oil prices to US$37.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile exchange Friday, a 12-year high. The rise in energy prices results in a direct cost to consumers in the form of higher gasoline prices.
The cost of sending troops and armament and bringing them back could total US$23 billion.
"The incremental cost following combat operations could vary from about US$1 billion to US$4 billion a month," the CBO said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft