It's obviously easy to spend money at the Pentagon - when the President gives the green light.
Politico reports on what the Pentagon has already spent after only 10 days into the US being part of the military involvement in Libya.
"The Pentagon says it has spent $550 million on U.S. military operations in Libya since efforts to protect civilians from Muammar Qadhafi’s regime began 10 days ago.
Details of expenditures on the Libya mission show the Defense Department spending more than 60 percent of the $550 million on bombs and missiles, Pentagon spokeswoman Navy Cmdr. Kathleen Kesler told POLITICO. The rest of the costs, she said, “are for higher operating tempo of U.S. forces and deployment costs.”
The total — the first official tab released by the Pentagon — reflects costs incurred in the mission between March 19 and March 28. It doesn’t include day-to-day military costs like troop salaries and the upkeep of ships that the Pentagon would have had to pay regardless of the action in Libya. The funding is being shifted from other U.S. operations.
Moving ahead, Kesler said, “future costs are highly uncertain,” though the Defense Department expects to incur added costs of about $40 million over the next three weeks as the operation transfers to NATO’s leadership. After that, if U.S. forces stay at the levels planned, U.S. military involvement would total about $40 million each month.
Several news organizations have estimated that the cost of the Libya mission has already exceeded $600 million. In an accounting published Monday, ABC News’s $600 million-plus estimation included $60 million to replace the Air Force F-15E fighter jet that crashed last week after experiencing mechanical problems. The Pentagon’s official total does not include the cost of replacing the jet.
The total includes $268.8 million spent on at least 191 Tomahawk cruise missiles that have been launched, ABC estimated."
Politico reports on what the Pentagon has already spent after only 10 days into the US being part of the military involvement in Libya.
"The Pentagon says it has spent $550 million on U.S. military operations in Libya since efforts to protect civilians from Muammar Qadhafi’s regime began 10 days ago.
Details of expenditures on the Libya mission show the Defense Department spending more than 60 percent of the $550 million on bombs and missiles, Pentagon spokeswoman Navy Cmdr. Kathleen Kesler told POLITICO. The rest of the costs, she said, “are for higher operating tempo of U.S. forces and deployment costs.”
The total — the first official tab released by the Pentagon — reflects costs incurred in the mission between March 19 and March 28. It doesn’t include day-to-day military costs like troop salaries and the upkeep of ships that the Pentagon would have had to pay regardless of the action in Libya. The funding is being shifted from other U.S. operations.
Moving ahead, Kesler said, “future costs are highly uncertain,” though the Defense Department expects to incur added costs of about $40 million over the next three weeks as the operation transfers to NATO’s leadership. After that, if U.S. forces stay at the levels planned, U.S. military involvement would total about $40 million each month.
Several news organizations have estimated that the cost of the Libya mission has already exceeded $600 million. In an accounting published Monday, ABC News’s $600 million-plus estimation included $60 million to replace the Air Force F-15E fighter jet that crashed last week after experiencing mechanical problems. The Pentagon’s official total does not include the cost of replacing the jet.
The total includes $268.8 million spent on at least 191 Tomahawk cruise missiles that have been launched, ABC estimated."
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