According to the latest Congressional Research Service accounting of the cost of operations in the Global War on Terror, the Administration would have spent about $319 billion on operations in Iraq and $88 billion for Afghanistan. These numbers include the most recently approved Fiscal 2006 emergency supplemental funding, signed into law June 15. DOD has spent another $26 billion on enhanced base security. CRS calculates that the average monthly Pentagon tab for Iraqis about $6.4 billion and for Afghanistan is $1.3 billion. The Congressional analysts also note that when compared to Fiscal 2004 these averages are 28 percent higher for Iraq and 18 percent higher for Afghanistan.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
