Cost of Iraq War, Its Timeline and the Economic Impact

The War added more than $1 trillion to the U.S. debt.

That includes increases to the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Veterans Administration (VA) base budgets. The DoD base budget grew by $193 billion during the Iraq War. The VA budget expanded by $47.7 billion. Some of those increases are attributable to the War in Afghanistan. 

It also includes the $819.7 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds specifically dedicated to the Iraq War.  That's more than the $738 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars spent on the Vietnam War. It's second only to the $4.1 trillion in inflation-adjusted dollars spent during World War II. For more on how to determine the actual cost of defense, review the U.S. Military Budget. 

Timeline of Iraq War Costs

Here's a timeline of what happened each year. Costs are taken from the 2014 Congressional Budget Services Report and Federal government spending reports. A table that summarizes these costs is below.

FY 2003 - $90.3 billion: On March 19, the United States invaded Iraq with "Shock and Awe." Massive bombing and a ground invasion toppled the Hussein regime the next month. 

FY 2004 - $90.9 billion: In April, the U.S. laid siege to the Sunni-held city of Falluja. That same month, photos of torture at the  Abu Ghraib prison further incited insurgents.

 In June, the U.S. appointed Shiite leader Iyad Allawi as Prime Minister. Despite this, Shia radicals turned on the United States in Najaf two months later. In November, the U.S. military launched a major offensive against Sunni insurgents in Falluja. For more on the internal politics, see Sunni-Shia Split.

FY 2005 - $105.8 billion: In April, Iraq named Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani as president, and Shiite Ibrahim Jaafari as Prime Minister. In May, Sunni insurgents killed 672 people in car bombings, double the 364 killed in April. In October, voters approved a new constitution. It aimed to create an Islamic federal democracy. In December, they elected a new Parliament.

FY 2006 - $108.3 billion: The United States responded to escalating violence between Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds that killed more than 34,000 civilians. In February, Sunnis bombed an important Shia shrine in Samarra. In April, newly re-elected President Talabani asked Shia candidate Nouri al-Maliki to form a new government. An al-Qaida leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in Iraq. In November, Iraq and Syria restored diplomatic relations after nearly 25 years. In the Shia area of Sadr City in Baghdad, more than 200 died in car bombings.

In December, Saddam Hussein was quietly executed. 

FY 2007 - $155.9 billion: Bush announced a surge of 20,000 additional U.S. troops to help transition power to Iraq leaders. In  February, more than 130 troops were killed by bombs in Baghdad's Sadriya market. In March, hundreds more were killed when Sunnis exploded three trucks filled with toxic chlorine gas in Falluja and Ramadi. In April, 200 people died from bombs in Baghdad. In August, 250 people were killed by truck and car bombs in two Kurdish villages. Shia and Kurdish leaders formed an alliance to support Prime Minister Maliki. U.S-contractors Blackwater security guards killed 17 civilians in Baghdad. By December, Britain handed over the security of the Basra province to Iraqi forces.

FY 2008 - $196.8 billion: In January, the Iraqi Parliament allowed former officials from Saddam Hussein's Baath party to return to public life.

In March, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited. Hundreds were killed when Prime Minister Maliki cracked down on Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army in Basra. In September, the United States handed over the Sunni province of Anbar to the Shia-led government. Bush signed the Status of Force agreement which promised to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq by 2011. (Source: "Did Obama Withdraw From Iraq Too Soon?" NPR, December 19, 2015.)

FY 2009 - $132.9 billion: In January, Iraq took control of security in Baghdad's Green Zone. In June, U.S. troops withdrew from all towns and cities, handing over security duties to Iraq. In July, Masoud Barzani (KDP) was re-elected as President. In December, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for suicide bombings in Baghdad that killed at least 367 people that year. Tension flared with Iran when its troops briefly occupied an oilfield in Iraqi territory. In November, President Obama agreed to pull out troops by 2011.

FY 2010 - $83.4 billion:  Troops withdrew, leaving 50,000 to advise Iraqi forces and protect U.S. interests until 2011.

FY 2011 - $50.9 billion: All U.S. troops left Iraq by end of December. The Shia government suppressed the Sunni minority. The Iraq military became weak. Both fueled the rise of the Islamic State group. 

2012-2014 - $7.8 billion: The United States supported contractors who stayed in Iraq to protect U.S. interests