The price tag for running the war in Afghanistan will outstrip the cost of the conflict in Iraq next year, according to budget documents released today by the Pentagon.
Afghanistan, in the words of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is now supposed to be the Pentagon’s “main effort” and “strategic focus.” This budget makes it official: The Department is requesting a $130 billion “overseas contingency operations” fund, of which the Afghanistan campaign will receive the largest share.
Vice Adm. Steve Stanley, the director of force structure, resources and assessment on the Joint Staff, told reporters that the budget request represents “where you’re going to first see the swing of not only dollars or resources, but combat capability” from Iraq to Afghanistan.
“The money requested here – about $65 billion for Afghanistan –actually exceeds the $61 billion that we’re requesting for Iraq,” he said. “So that’s the first time in our war costs request.”
Those numbers are based on keeping an average of around 100,000 troops in Iraq and 68,000 in Afghanistan. Troop levels are supposed to come down gradually in Iraq over the next year, and these numbers are based on plans to bring troop levels down to around 50,000 by the end of the fiscal year, according to Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale. In addition to paying for a plus-up of troops, the Afghanistan portion of the operations budget will pay for new equipment, like the scaled-down version of the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected truck that will be customized for the primitive roads of Afghanistan. |