U.S. military fuel consumption dwarfs energy demand in many countries around the world, adding up to nearly double the fuel use in Ireland and 20 times more than that of Iceland, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. From the start of the Iraq war in 2003 up till 2007, U.S. military fuel consumption has slipped by about 10 percent, but costs more than doubled due surging oil prices. Following are the latest figures on the cost and amounts of fuel purchased by the U.S. military over the course of the Iraq war: U.S. MILITARY FUEL SPENDING:^ 2003: $ 5.21 billion 2007: $12.61 billion Percentage increase: 142 percent U.S MILITARY FUEL CONSUMPTION 2003: 145.1 million barrels (397,500 barrels per day) 2007: 132.5 million barrels (363,000 barrels per day) Percentage change: -9.5 percent 2007 U.S. MILITARY FUEL CONSUMPTION EQUALS:+ - 90 percent more than Ireland's annual consumption - 38 percent more than Israel's annual consumption - 20 times Iceland's annual consumption - 1.7 percent of U.S. annual consumption AVERAGE ESTIMATED CRUDE OIL PRICE PER BARREL: 2003: $32.50 2007: $72.50 CRUDE OIL PRICE CHANGE SINCE BEGINNING OF IRAQ WAR: March 19, 2003: $ 29.88* March 19, 2008: $103.25* Percentage increase: 245 percent Sources: U.S. Defense Energy Support Center based on the U.S. government's fiscal year begins on Oct. 1 of the previous calendar year and ends on Sept. 30 of the year with which it is numbered. ^Does not include free oil products provided by Kuwait and includes fuel used by authorized Department of Defense customers such as state and local governments. +Based U.S. Energy Information Administration data. *Based on the closing price for crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange. (Compiled by Rebekah Kebede; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Afghan girls attend their first day of class at a new school built with German aid money in the village of Deh Hassan, northern Afghanistan, March 18, 2008, during a visit ...
