U.S. Republicans refute war cost report

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- U.S. Republicans were calling Wednesday for the retraction of a Democrat-led committee report on the hidden costs of U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Tuesday, the congressional Joint Economic Committee said hidden costs will amount to $1.6 trillion by the end of 2008, which was attacked by Republican members as a partisan scare tactic, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Rep. James Saxton, R-N.J., issued a statement calling for a withdrawal of "this defective report," the Post said.

"All wars involve costs, and the war on terror is no exception," the legislators wrote. "The Democrats' report would have benefited from more analysis and quality control, and less political content."

Other Republicans on the committee called parts of the report "unintelligibly confused," while White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said the report was politically motivated and didn't reflect progress being made in Iraq.