The US war in Iraq now costs more per month than the average monthly cost of military operations in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s, a report has found.
The Iraq Quagmire, a report issued yesterday by the Institute for Policy Studies and Foreign Policy in Focus, two US anti-war groups, put the cost of operations in Iraq at $US5.6 billion ($7.5 billion) a month, or almost $US186 million a day.
"By comparison, the average cost of US operations in Vietnam over the eight-year war was $US5.1 billion per month, adjusting for inflation," it said.
The US Congress has approved four spending bills for Iraq so far, with funds totalling $US204.4 billion, and is expected soon to authorise a further $US45.3 billion.
"Broken down per person in the United States, the cost so far is $US727, making the Iraq war the most expensive military effort in the past 60 years," wrote the report's authors, Phyllis Bennis and Erik Leaver.
While there are far fewer troops in Iraq than there were in Vietnam at the height of the war, the weapons they use are more expensive and they are paid more.
The report also highlighted the human costs of the war - the deaths of an estimated 27,000 Iraqi civilians and more than 2000 US military personnel and civilian contractors; the social costs of domestic programs slashed to meet the budget shortfall; the loss of income to reservists and National Guard troops who spend long periods away from their careers and businesses, and the expected costs of treating returning troops for mental health conditions as a result of their service.
The persistent fighting in Iraq and concerns over soaring petrol prices have helped to push down President George Bush's approval rating to a career low of 45 per cent, an ABC News/ Washington Post poll published on Tuesday found.
Meanwhile, a Reuters cameraman in Iraq has been ordered by a secret tribunal to be held without charge in Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison until his case is reviewed within six months, a US military spokesman said yesterday.
Ali Omar Abrahem al-Mashhadani was arrested by US forces on August 8 after a search of his home in the city of Ramadi. The military has refused Reuters requests to say why he is being held. He has not been charged.
His brother, who was detained with him and then released, said they were arrested after marines looked at the images on the journalist's cameras.
Lieutenant-Colonel Guy Rudisill said Mr Mashhadani was considered a threat to the people of Iraq and a Combined Review and Release Board had recommended his continued interment.
He said Mr Mashhadani would not be allowed to see a lawyer, his family or anyone else for the first 60 days of his detention.
The global managing editor of Reuters, David Schlesinger, called for his immediate release, saying he was "shocked and appalled that such a decision could be taken without his having access to legal counsel of his choosing, his family or his employers".
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