The initial cost of American efforts to destroy the Islamic State is now closing in at almost $1 billion, and could cost around $200 to $570 million more every month , depending on the number of troops and intensity of the operations, a report revealed on Monday.
The United States has already spent around $780 to $900 million since August 8, the start of the airstrikes against the militant group’s stronghold in Iraq and Syria, according to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), a Washington-based think-tank specializing in defense issues, The Washington Post reported. So far, the U.S. has completed 220 airstrikes in Iraq and 40 in Syria since it launched on September 23.
The cost could range at about $200 to $320 million every month or $2.4 to 3.8 billion a year, if 2,000 troops are deployed on the ground and operations are at a moderate lever. This could balloon to around $350 million to $570 million if 5,000 troops are deployed on the ground and the current pace of the operations are sustained, or roughly $4.2 to $6.8 billion annually.
“Assuming a moderate level of air operations and 2,000 deployed ground forces, the costs would likely run between $200 and $320 million per month,” the study said.
Aside from the airstrikes, the U.S. Navy has also deployed at least 47 Tomahawk cruise missiles–amounting to more than $1 million each–into Syria. These war machines mainly target the relatively smaller Khorasan Group, an al-Qaeda-linked group accused of planning attacks against the U.S. and other Western nations.
The study’s forecast is based on data that is publicly available, including “the number of targets struck, the types of aircraft and munitions used, the basing options available to US forces in the region, and the number US ground forces in the region.”
The number of American ground troops in Iraq are limited to 2,000 serving as advisers since President Barack Obama ruled out direct combat roles of the forces. But if the government shifts its strategy and decides to deploy ground troops, it would cost as much as $22 billion per year with at least 25,000 forces deployed, USA Today reported.
