Troop Levels in
the Afghan and Iraq Wars,
FY2001-FY2012:
Cost and Other Potential
Issues
Amy BelascoSpecialist in U.S. Defense Policy and Budget
July 2, 2009
Congressional
Research Service
7-5700
R40682
Easy to read PDF format with 72 pages of precise statistics,
graphs, charts, and text showing the number of troops involved and the number
of dollars spent in regard to the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.
Summary:
In February and March 2009, the Obama Administration announced its plans
to increase troop levels in Afghanistan and
decrease troop levels in Iraq. In Afghanistan, 30,000 more troops are deploying this year while in
Iraq, troops will gradually decline to 35,000 to 50,000 by August 31, 2011 with all troops to be out of
Iraq by December 31, 2011. The most commonly cited measure of troop strength is “Boots on
the Ground” or the number of troops located in Afghanistan and in Iraq. Based on average monthly
Boots on the Ground figures, the number of troops in Afghanistan and Iraq increased
from 5,200 in FY2002 to a peak of 187,900 in FY2008 primarily
because of increases in Iraq
beginning with the invasion in March 2003. In FY2009, total troop strength is expected to remain
the same as planned increases in Afghanistan offset declines in Iraq. By FY2012, overall troop
strength for the two wars is likely to decline to 67,500 when the withdrawal from Iraq is expected
to be complete.
For Afghanistan, troops in-country grew gradually from 5,200 in FY2002
to 20,400 in FY2006. Between FY2006 and FY2008,
average strength there jumped by another 10,000 to 30,100. Under the Administration’s plans,
CRS estimates that average monthly Boots on the Ground in Afghanistan may increase to
50,700 in FY2009 with a further increase to 63,500 the following year once all new units are in
place. Currently, additional increases have not been approved. For Iraq, troops in-country
nearly doubled between FY2003 and FY2004 reaching 130,600. By
the following year, average
strength grew by another 13,000 to 143,800, with that level maintained in FY2006. During the
surge in troops initiated by President Bush, average troop strength
in Iraq grew by 7,000 or 6% in FY2007 and another 9,500 or 9% in FY2008,
reaching a peak of 157,800. CRS estimates
that average troop strength in Iraq will decline to 135,600 in
FY2009, 88,300 in FY2010, 42,800
in FY2011, and 4,100 in FY2012. While it is not clear whether war costs will change
precisely in tandem with troop levels, these changes can provide a benchmark to assess requests. Based on changes in troop levels and
other adjustments, CRS estimates that war costs could be
about $8 billion less than the Department of Defense (DOD) $141 billion request for FY2009,
and about $13 billion below its $130 billion request for FY2010. For the next year,
FY2011, CRS estimates that DOD’s requests could be $42 billion more than the current planning
figure of $50 billion. And in FY2012, CRS estimates war costs could be $20 billion higher than
the Administration’s estimate of $50 billion.
Although Boots on the Ground is the most
commonly cited measure of troop strength, that measure does not include over
100,000 other troops deployed in the region providing theater-wide support for
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), the Afghan War, and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the Iraq War.
Before the 9/11 attacks, the United States had deployed about 26,000 troops in the Central
Command region, which includes Afghanistan and Iraq. Based on the most
comprehensive DOD measure of troop strength, 294,000 troops were deployed for
OEF and OIF as of December 2008, a tenfold increase since 2001.This more
inclusive measure may more accurately capture the overall demand for troops.
The Administration has not indicated how its plans would affect troops providing support in the region. Using five DOD sources, this report
describes, analyzes, and
estimates the number of troops deployed for each war from the 9/11 attacks
to FY2012 to help Congress assess upcoming DOD war funding requests as well as
the implications for the long-term U.S. presence in the region.
This report ranks right up at the top of all the reports I have
read concerning Troop levels and the cost of maintaining those levels. My
motivation for researching this topic is the fact that our Nation’s Middle
Class is mostly responsible for supplying boots on the ground and the money to
carry out their mission. The more I dig; the more I realize that my prediction
of two years ago is not very far off the mark. I predicted back then that we
would spend approximately $3.4 TRILLION on both conflicts. If you read this
report carefully, you get a very clear picture of all the primary, secondary,
and tertiary costs.
At a time when we can
least afford it, those friendly folks down in Washington, D.C. are still
spending our tax dollars like there’s no tomorrow. There are some big ticket
programs we need to spend money on; this is not one of them.
No comments:
Post a Comment