The Pentagon reported on Friday that the United States military operations against the Islamic State militants in Iraq sums an average of $7.5 million a day since it started in mid-June. A cost that means the US department has spent more than $500 million on the battle.
Pentagon Press Secretary, Rear Admiral John Kirby reported on a briefing that the expense of the United States military operations against ISIS militants in Iraq had mottled since the US forces became tangled on June 16 but on average the cost is about $7.5 million daily. He also said that as the US operational tempo and the activities have intensified, the cost too increases. The figures were based on a snippet of expenses between June 16 and August 26.
Although Pentagon Press Secretary, Rear Admiral John Kirby never offered an estimate of the Pentagon's total costs on the ongoing conflict, the $7.5 million a day for the 71-days military operations in Iraq would mean the department has spent more than $500 million.
According to the analysts, comparably, the department has been spending an estimated cost of $1.3 billion weekly on Afghanistan. The defense officials said that the estimated cost of $7.5 million a day in the operations in Iraq includes fuel for flying exploration and strike missions, the cost of missiles and other weapons used and fired, as well as some payments for the personnel.
According to the defense officials, the US military operations in Iraq has carried out 110 airstrikes while flying about 60 exploration aircraft sorties daily. Additionally, it has sent over 800 troops to assess the circumstances.
The US military operations in Iraq which costs $7.5 million a day are being paid for from the war-spending budget of the Pentagon that includes some $80 billion, mainly for Afghanistan conflict in 2014.
Rear Admiral John Kirby noted that the Pentagon will automatically face a larger budget problem in 2016 if across-the-board budget cuts return. Currently, the department is under orders to cut almost $1 trillion in projected spending over a decade. In a recent report, the National Defense Panel warned the department cuts ordered in 2011 constituted a serious strategic misstep that posed risks to weaken US security and global leadership.
When the US was actively battling various insurgents in Iraq in 2007, the costs were estimated to be almost $720 million per day. Last year, A Brown University study estimated $2.2 trillion total cost of the war.
On Friday, as the conflict continues, the US military forces conducted four more airstrikes in Iraq, all centered on the Mosul Dam, which was beleaguered by ISIS rebels. The costs of the operations might increase to more than $7.5 million a day if the Iraq conflict will not sojourn soon.
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