CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
U.S. Congress
Washington, DC 20515
www.cbo.gov
February 7, 2007
Honorable Kent Conrad
Chairman
Committee on the Budget
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Mr. Chairman:
As you requested, this letter summarizes the funding provided for military and
diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and for other operations in the
war on terrorism through January 31, 2007. It also presents projections by the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) of costs for such operations over the next
10 years under two different scenarios regarding the number of troops that
would be deployed overseas for those purposes.
ESTIMATED FUNDING PROVIDED TO DATE
Since September 2001, policymakers have provided $503 billion in budget
authority for military and diplomatic operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other
regions in support of the war on terrorism (see Table 1). At least 70 percent
of that amount has been allocated for the war in Iraq.
Funding for military operations and other defense activities totals $448 billion
thus far, nearly all of which has gone to the Department of Defense (DoD).
(Funding for intelligence agencies and the Coast Guard accounts for less than
1 percent of that total.) In addition, policymakers provided $15 billion during
the 2005–2007 period to train and equip indigenous security forces in Iraq and
Afghanistan. (They provided another $5 billion for Iraqi security forces in
2004, but because that appropriation went to the Department of State’s Iraq
Relief and Reconstruction Fund, the money was classified as spending for
international affairs.) Including the $15 billion for indigenous security forces,
appropriations for defense-related activities in Iraq and Afghanistan and for the
war on terrorism since September 2001 total $463 billion.
Honorable Kent Conrad
Page 2
In addition to funding for defense activities, lawmakers since 2001 have
appropriated just over $34 billion for diplomatic operations and foreign aid to
Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries that are assistin