The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11 (Updated 11 April 2008) (PDF; 316 KB)
Source: Congressional Research Service (via Federation of American Scientists)

With enactment of the FY2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2764/P.L. 110-161 on December 26, 2007, Congress has approved a total of about $700 billion for military operations, base security, reconstruction, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care for the three operations initiated since the 9/11 attacks: Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Afghanistan and other counter terror operations; Operation Noble Eagle (ONE), providing enhanced security at military bases; and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).

This $700 billion total covers all war-related appropriations from FY2001 in supplementals, regular appropriations, and continuing resolutions including not quite half of the FY2008 request. Of that total, CRS estimates that Iraq will receive about $526 billion (74%), OEF about $140 billion (20%), and enhanced base security about $28 billion (5%), with about $5 billion that CRS cannot allocate (1%). About 94% of the funds are for DOD, 6% for foreign aid programs and embassy operations, and less than 1% for medical care for veterans. As of January 2008, DOD’s monthly obligations for contracts and pay averaged about $12.2 billion, including $9.8 billion for Iraq, and $2.4 billion for Afghanistan.

The Administration requested $195.5 billion for war-related activities in DOD, State/USAID, and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) Medical programs for FY2008. Thus far, Congress has provided $90.4 billion for war needs. Congress is expected to start considering the pending FY2008 supplemental request of $105.2 billion — including $101.3 billion for DOD and $3.4 billion for foreign aid and diplomatic operations — in late April 2008.

For FY2009, the Administration has requested about $72.8 billion for war costs including a “placeholder” DOD war request of $70 billion, $1.5 billion for State Department/USAID foreign and diplomatic operations, and $1.3 billion for VA medical care for OIF and OEF veterans. Details of DOD’s FY2009 request are expected sometime after General David Petraeus makes his recommendations about future troop levels on April 8, 2008. Based on the pending FY2008 and FY2009 requests, the total for both enacted and requested war funding is about $878 billion.

Using currently available funds for FY2008 in DOD’s bridge fund and regular appropriation, DOD estimates that the Army has sufficient funds to finance war costs until about early July 2008. CRS estimates that DOD could finance another one to two months if DOD transferred funds to the Army. DOD anticipates that the $70 billion bridge request for FY2009 would last at least until the new Administration. In February 2008, the Congressional Budget Office projected that additional war costs from FY2009 through FY2018 could range from $440 billion, if troop levels fell to 30,000 by 2010, to $1.0 trillion, if troop levels fell to 75,000 by about 2013.

Under these scenarios, CBO projects that funding for Iraq, Afghanistan and the GWOT could reach from about $1.1 trillion to about $1.7 trillion for FY2001- FY2018. This report will be updated as warranted.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 11th, 2008 at 11:28 pm and is filed under Afghanistan, Congressional Research Service, Government and politics, Middle East, Military and defense, Terrorism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.