Tuesday, July 31, 2007

[IWS] CBO: ESTIMATED COSTS of U.S. OPERATIONS in IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN and of other activities related to the War on Terrorism [31 July 2007]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

CBO Testimony

Statement of Robert A. Sunshine
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis

Estimated Costs of U.S. Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and of Other Activities Related to the War on Terrorism

before the Committee on Budget
U.S. House of Representatives
July 31, 2007
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdoc.cfm?index=8497&type=0
or
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/84xx/doc8497/07-30-WarCosts_Testimony.pdf
[full-text, 18 pages]

[excerpt]
Funding to Date

Since September 2001, the Congress has appropriated $602 billion for military operations and other activities related to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war on terrorism. In addition, although not explicitly appropriated for that purpose, an estimated $2 billion has been spent by the VA for war-related benefits. Specific appropriations, which averaged about $93 billion a year from 2003 through 2005, have risen to $120 billion in 2006 and $170 billion in 2007.

According to CBO's estimates, about $533 billion of the appropriated sums has been allocated for U.S. military operations and other activities carried out by the Department of Defense (DoD). The department's 2007 appropriation for those purposes­$165 billion­accounts for more than a quarter of its budget for the year. The Defense Department is currently obligating an average of almost $11 billion a month for expenses related to its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and for other activities related to the war on terrorism. Most of that sum (more than $9 billion per month) is related to operations in Iraq.

Of the $602 billion in total appropriations, approximately $30 billion has been provided to establish, train, and equip indigenous security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, and about $39 billion has been appropriated for reconstruction and relief efforts, diplomatic and consular operations, embassy construction, economic support, and foreign aid. Including both specific appropriations and other costs incurred by the VA, a total of almost $3 billion has been provided for medical care and other VA programs to assist former service members affected by their participation in operations related to the war on terrorism.
Cost of the Increase in Force Levels

CBO projected the cost of the recent increase in the number of troops deployed to Iraq and also estimated the total amount of funding that would be required through 2017 to sustain U.S. forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations involved in the war on terrorism. Compared with DoD's previously announced plans for 2007, CBO estimates that an additional 30,000 to 40,000 personnel from the four military services have been deployed on the ground in the Iraq theater. Those additional troops will cost about $10 billion, $22 billion, or $40 billion, respectively, depending on whether that increase is sustained for four months, 12 months, or 24 months.

Projected Costs over 10 Years

In addition, CBO projected the costs through 2017 of all activities associated with operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war on terrorism on the basis of two scenarios provided by Chairman Spratt. Because the Defense Department does not report detailed operational statistics, these estimates are rough approximations based on current funding and force levels.

In the first scenario, the number of personnel deployed on the ground for the war on terrorism would be reduced from the 2007 average of about 210,000 to 30,000 by the beginning of 2010 and then remain at that level through 2017.(1) CBO estimates that the cost to the U.S. government under this scenario would range from $481 billion to $603 billion over the 2008­2017 period, depending on how long the current personnel level in Iraq is sustained (see  Table 1).

In the second scenario, the number of personnel deployed to Iraq and other locations associated with the war on terrorism would decline more gradually, from an average of 210,000 in 2007 to 75,000 by the start of 2013 and then remain at that level through 2017. CBO estimates that total costs to the government under this scenario would range from $924 billion to $1,010 billion over the 2008­2017 period, again depending on how long the current personnel level in Iraq is sustained.

AND MUCH MORE....
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Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
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