Search

Reports on the U.S. General Accounting Office's declaration that military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are running 12.3 billion dollars over budget in 2004 and that Pentagon officials are trying to make up for the shortfall by transferring money from other accounts and delaying refurbishment of worn-out equipment in Iraq. Office's estimate of the shortfall; Administration officials' acknowledgement that costs in Iraq are running higher than the amount approved by the U.S. Congress.

Focuses on military base closings in the U.S. Aggressive lobbying campaigns by communities to stave off cuts and other changes; Scrutiny of Pentagon officials on all domestic bases; Reference to Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld's list of recommended base closings, consolidations and realignments; The broader goal of making the military more agile and responsive to security threats; Efforts of state officials to preserve their installations; Views of military analysts; Outlook for a decision by an independent commission; Deadlines; Scope of the four previous rounds of base closures; Question of the open-ended military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. INSET: The Road Ahead for Military Bases.

Senate Democrats in the U.S. challenged military service top civilian officials on their inability to estimate FY05 costs of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and questioned the Pentagon's ability to pay for them with FY04 funds. Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee expressed concern over the Army's spending roughly $3.7 billion per month in Iraq and $900 million in Afghanistan. Navy Secretary Gordon England said that the cost of sending Marines to Iraq was not accounted for in FY04. Pentagon Comptroller Dov Zakheim said before the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee that the Iraqi Freedom Fund, a $1.9 billion supplemental spending package, is fast dwindling.

The article reports on the decision of the U.S. Senate to pass a defense bill amounting to 626 billion dollars on October 6, 2009. A provision that restricts any transfer of accused enemy combatants from the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into the U.S. is also included in the bill. It mentions that the underlying bill combines 128 billion dollars for overseas military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with 498 billion dollars for the rest of the budget of the Department of Defense.

The article reports that U.S. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton has secured House approval for an amendment to the FY09 defense authorization bill that he hopes will serve as a critical first step toward improving interagency coordination in Iraq and Afghanistan. Skelton's amendment would establish a 12-member panel to review how the Defense and State departments, as well as the U.S. Agency for International Development, collaborate on overseas national security issues.

The article reports that U.S. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton said that he hopes to insert language into the FY09 defense authorization bill to require more cooperation between federal agencies doing work in Iraq and Afghanistan. Skelton acknowledged that his committee's markup of the authorization measure, will be just the first step in a long debate that will involve several congressional committees.

The article reports on the support of Democrats for an option of advancing more money for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan as a way to ease the strain on the Pentagon. The author claims that the Afghanistan measure could avoid impasse over Iraq funding. It is stated that about $30 billion of the Pentagon's $190 billion spending request before Congress is related to Afghanistan.

The article reports that the U.S. Department of Defense is urging the House-Senate conferees on the FY08 defense authorization bill to drop a provision in the House measure that would create a special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton has called it as one of his bill's most significant provisions, and stressed that the inspector general in Afghanistan would ensure even greater accountability of efforts there.

Reports that the United States Senate has approved a budget for the government's military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Amount allocated to the Department of Defense; Number of senators that approved the budget; Senate's decision to increase control on how the government will spend the money.

Presents news briefs relating to politics & government in the United States as of November 16, 2001. Poor opinion of U.S. President George W. Bush's budget chief Mitch Daniels among Republicans; Appropriations plans of the U.S. Department of Defense; Progress of election reforms; First lady Laura Bush to begin a campaign to reveal the Afghan Taliban's abuse of women; Others.