Pentagon Sees Libya Military Costs Soar

[Purveyor]

Source: Financial Times

US military operations in Libya are on course to cost hundreds of millions of dollars more than the Pentagon estimated, according to figures obtained by the Financial Times.

Robert Gates, the outgoing secretary of defence, said last month that the Pentagon expected to spend “somewhere in the ball park of $750m” in the 2011 fiscal year as part of efforts to protect the Libyan people.

But according to a Pentagon memo which includes a detailed update on the progress and pace of operations, by mid-May US operations in Libya had cost $664m, a figure confirmed by the Department of Defence.

The document, entitled the “United States Contribution to Operation Unified Protector’’, adds that US costs are running at a rate of about $2m a day or $60m a month. The memo has been circulating on Capitol Hill since last week. The DoD declined to comment on the increased costs of the operation.

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Read more: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/11d5624c-920f-11e0-b8c1-00144feab49a.html

[PuffedMica]

1. A few defense contractors were heard to say

Lockheed Martin: ChaChing!

Boeing: ChaChing!

BAE Systems: ChaChing!

Northrop Grumman: ChaChing!

Raytheon: ChaChing!

General Dynamics: ChaChing!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[al bupp]

17. A Graphic Cost Comparison

Compare the various costs of Bush’s illegal war in Iraq to those of the UN /NATO intervention in Libya (which is not illegal in internationaL law).

[xiamiam]

2. translate into billions of dollars..what a joke..nt

[grahamhgreen]

3. F*ck these Bullsh*t wars and those that support them.

[emilyg]

9. This is O's war.

[grahamhgreen]

21. Yup

[krabigirl]

22. yep..well his and Sarko's.

[xchrom]

4. Don't fuckin even try to talk about debts, deficits, medicare, etc. Nt

[dipsydoodle]

5. Oh.

:rofl:

[ChrisBorg]

6. Nobody could see that coming.

[Confusious]

7. Need to have a layaway plan for war these days. nt

[Gregorian]

8. America's crack addiction. War.

I just don't get it. We throw kids in jail for smoking a joint, yet we spend money we don't even have on killing human beings. How stupid can this country be?

[ixion]

10. everything you mentioned is a profit deal

which is why it continues. :(

[trud]

11. Oh, I'm so surprised.

Who could have imagined this. Sure glad we don't need that $2 million a day for anything else.

[On the Road]

12. $2m a day or $60m a month

Cheap, efficient, noble cause. Good deal.

[awoke_in_2003]

20. we cannot afford "noble causes"...

we are bleeding money, and this economy is going to come unglued soon.

[bhikkhu]

13. "costs soar" seems to be the standard headline of the age

...in perspective though, I think we will do more good (and less harm) in Libya for the billion or so it is likely to cost (the given estimate + 40% to be on the realistic side) over the course of a year - than the small amount of good and large amount of harm that ten years and many billions of dollars spent in Afghanistan.

I heard today it was at a billion a month, and things are grim; there is no national economy without foreign aid, and nothing in the way of complete collapse. Negotiations were looking promising once, but now there is nothing.

In any case, Libya should be a strong and prosperous country, for the land and people and resources it has. Out of the grip of the Gadhafi's they should be able to get back on their feet quickly. Best hopes for their future (maybe they can lend us some cash down the road aways?).

[trud]

24. Yeah, Islamic fundamentalists and al Qaeda in Libya, that'll be great n/t

[inwiththenew]

14. More money pissed away

Meanwhile here we are laying off teachers and other workers left and right.

[The_Casual_Observer]

15. Humanitarian mission for sure. The "rebels" have started selling

Libyan oil to the US.

[wordpix]

26. it is ALL about oil & protecting the profits for the oil corpos while we go hungry

:grr:

[The Northerner]

16. K&R nt

[wingzeroday]

18. the war goes on

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/10/spain_anonymous_arrests/

[David__77]

19. It's a rotten, immoral war no matter what is costs.

Not one cent should be spent to kill the sons and daughters of Libya.

[krabigirl]

23. disguting nt.

[wordpix]

25. a pittance. Afghanistan is $10 billion/week and we have plenty of money (sarcasm)