Washington: A military invasion of Iraq to topple the government of President Saddam Hussein could cost the United States up to $ 200 billion if it takes longer than two months and negatively affects the global economy, a Congressional study has concluded.

If US allies refuse to back the proposed operation, "any new military action against Iraq would have a much larger impact on the budget than did the Persian Gulf War," said Democratic Representative John Spratt, the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, who spearheaded the study made public on September 23.

Members of the committee's Democratic staff, who compiled the report, based their research on the assumption that the new operation will be implemented under the same conditions the United States enjoyed during the 1991 Gulf War, fought to eject Iraqi occupation forces from Kuwait.

During that war, which, according to the report cost the United States $ 79.9 billion in, the Pentagon had broad access to military bases in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, could use their air space, while Iraq refrained from use of chemical and biological weapons and many Iraqi soldiers offered only token resistance.

Many of these conditions may not exist this time. But even spending estimates computed under this rosy scenario indicate an invasion of Iraq would deal a serious blow to the US budget, despite assurance by Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill that the United States could afford it, the report showed.