US war cost in Iraq, Afghanistan underestimated

The US government has underestimated the 2004 cost of American military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan by 12.3 billion US dollars, according to a congressional report released on Wednesday.

The money gap is forcing the Pentagon to shift funds from other uses, including pushing expenses from the 2004 fiscal year into 2005, said the report by the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm in the Congress.

The US Congress approved an 87 billion dollars emergency spending bill in October 2003 to finance military and reconstruction operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in fiscal 2004 which ends on Sept.30.