How much has the war in Iraq cost the U.S.?

The most-basic estimate covers only spending to date, and is limited to budgetary items of military and diplomatic operations in Iraq. The Congressional Budget Office put those costs at about $400 billion in testimony last month before a House panel.

But start projecting forward 10 years

and you get a wide range of figures, all the way up to $3.5 trillion.

The latest estimate came this week from Congressional Democrats. The Joint Economic Committee’s majority staff released a report estimating the costs incurred so far in Iraq and Afghanistan at $1.6 trillion, and pegs costs through 2017 at $3.5 trillion. The report received widespread press coverage, including on CNN and in the Washington Post.

Republicans responded by criticizing the report for “errors and poor methodology,” but didn’t offer their own estimate.

The CBO

estimated total budget costs through 2017

between $1.2 trillion and $1.7 trillion

interest costs between $600 and $700 billion