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Afghan war set to cost Britain over £30 bn

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, Nov 5, IRNA -- The war in Afghanistan is set to cost Britain over £30 billion ($48bn) from the government’s special reserves, more than three times more than the Iraq war, according to the latest estimates released by Defence Secretary Liam Fox.

Britain is planning to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by 2015 and in a written parliamentary reply published Friday, Fox revealed the net additional military cost for the next four years will be more than £9.9 bn spent in the first eight years of the war.

In the government’s recent spending review for the period between 2011 and 2015, the special reserve for the war has been “forecast at £4 billion, £3.8 billion, £3.8 billion and £3.5 billion,” he said. In addition to the £15.1 bn for the next four year, the previous Labour government’s estimated cost for 2010/11 was conservatively put at £4 bn, marginally down on the estimated £4.2 bn in the previous fiscal year.

The cost of the Afghan war from the Treasury Reserves has fluctuated from £221 million from the first year, falling to £46 m by 2003/4, before gradually escalating to £2.6 bn in 2008/9. The addition cost does not include humanitarian, reconstruction and development aid, which is expected to bring the total bill to over £35 bn. This excludes billions more being paid out in compensation for soldiers killed and suffering life-changing injuries.

Figures released in June show that the government spent £8.2 bn in additional military costs to fight the war in Iraq, while a further billion was also given to the country, including for development.

In a separate parliamentary reply published Friday, Defence Minister Lord Astor confirmed that Britain did “not seek a perfect Afghanistan but one that is able to maintain its own security and prevent the return of al-Qaeda.”

“To do this, the international community and the Afghans are protecting the civilian population from the insurgents; building up the Afghan National Security Force's capability to enable the International Security Assistance Force to transfer security responsibility to its control as soon as it is ready; and supporting more effective Afghan government at the local and national levels,” Astor said.

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Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30058239