New Afghanistan troop plan to cost billions.

• Author: Harper, Jon

President Barack Obama's decision to delay troop withdrawals from Afghanistan could cost $10 billion or more annually, analysts said.

The commander-in-chief recently announced that about 10,000 U.S. troops would remain in the country until late 2016, and 5,500 would still be in Afghanistan when he leaves office in 2017. The previous plan called for drawing down to a mere embassy presence by the end of 2016.

Independent defense budget experts estimated that the additional forces and support efforts would come with a big price tag.

"They will probably need at least $10 billion more this [fiscal] year for the number change," said Mackenzie Eaglen, a defense analyst at the American Enterprise Institute. For fiscal year 2017, the Pentagon will need "at least" $20 billion. Her estimates were based on per capita cost trends for keeping service members in Afghanistan, as well as the cost of the overall war effort.

Michael O'Hanlon, co-director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institution, said $ 10 billion to $ 15 billion a year would likely be needed to bankroll the higher force levels.

Both O'Hanlon and Eaglen expect the money for Afghanistan operations to be allocated as part of overseas...