![]() ![]() We have more technology than any other country on Earth," Manchin says. "We have the greatest special ops in the world. He notes the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost hundreds of billions of dollars so far, and he argues a larger troop drawdown isn't a national security risk. Army War Collegeįor critics of the president, the idea that the troop drawdown won't save much money is reason enough to suggest it should be bigger. Lawrence Kaplan, a visiting professor at the U.S. The realm of war and peace exists separately apart - and justifiably so - from the economic realm. "We're building big bases," American University professor Gordon Adams says, describing the money invested as, in economic terms, "sunk" costs. That means most war expenditures lie not in the troops themselves but in the infrastructure that supports them - infrastructure that in some cases will remain in place long after troops are gone. "In Afghanistan that's going to be particularly true because it's a very difficult and austere environment in which to operate," he says. ![]() "What history has told us is that you don't see a proportional decrease in spending based on the number of troops when you draw them down," says Chris Hellman, a senior research analyst at the National Priorities Project. That comes out to about $1 million a soldier.īut the savings of withdrawing those troops won't equal out, experts say. The 33,000 tr oops who will return home by the end of next year match the numbers sent to Afghanistan in 2010, at a cost of about $30 billion. When you have this many people in a country that doesn't want you there - that has no economy, no infrastructure and a corrupt government - and you're trying to stabilize it and build them into a viable nation? I'm not sure we have enough time, and I definitely know we don't have enough money. In the wake of President Obama's announcement this past week that 33,000 American troops will soon return home, how much money does the U.S. Still, his $20.2 billion figure raises stark questions about the ongoing war in Afghanistan. By making those structures more efficient, Anderson says, the military could save lives and dollars. Freestanding tents equipped with air conditioners in 125-degree heat require a lot of fuel. "And you've got risks that are associated with moving the fuel almost every mile of the way."Īnderson calculates that more than 1,000 troops have died in fuel convoys, which remain prime targets for attack. To power an air conditioner at a remote outpost in landlocked Afghanistan, a gallon of fuel has to be shipped into Karachi, Pakistan, then driven 800 miles over 18 days to Afghanistan on roads that are sometimes little more than "improved goat trails," Anderson says. Still his claims raise questions about how much the US footprint in Afghanistan really costs – especially something like air conditioning. The Pentagon rejects Anderson's estimate. That all costs a lot of money and is part of the overall war effort in Afghanistan. Now it's important to note that wrapped up in Anderson's $20 billion figure are all kind of other expenditures – for instance, the cost of building and maintaining roads in Afghanistan, securing those roads, managing the security operations for those roads. He's now in the private sector, selling technologies branded as energy-efficient to the Defense Department. He's a retired brigadier general who served as chief logistician for Gen. "When you consider the cost to deliver the fuel to some of the most isolated places in the world - escorting, command and control, medevac support - when you throw all that infrastructure in, we're talking over $20 billion," Steven Anderson tells weekends on All Things Considered guest host Rachel Martin. It's what the G-8 has pledged to help foster new democracies in Egypt and Tunisia. It's more than BP has paid so far for damage from the Gulf oil spill. military spends annually on air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan: $20.2 billion, according to a former Pentagon official. The tents have been treated with polyurethane foam to increase energy efficiency. Air conditioners keep tents cool on a U.S. ![]()
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