The cost of fighting two wars in Iraq in Afghanistan will cost taxpayers dearly in 2009. An estimate by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates puts the estimated total for the coming year at $136 billion, according to the Associated Press. In a letter to congressional leaders, Gates said his “personal assessment” is that $70 billion more will be needed in addition to the $66 billion already approved last year.
Days before the letter, which was sent at the beginning of January, the Department of Defense (DoD) also released its updated Unified Command Plan. The Command Plan, which is updated every two years, is a key strategic document that establishes the missions, responsibilities, and geographic areas of responsibility for commanders of combatant commands.
The plan includes a new Africa Command and reassigns Puerto Rico and some of the other Caribbean islands to the Northern Command area of responsibility. Another key change is that combatant commanders will have several new missions, including responsibility for planning and conducting military support to stability, security, transition, and reconstruction operations, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief.
In a farewell speech to President Bush on Jan. 6 in Arlington, VA, Secretary Gates said that the U.S. military “has become more agile, lethal, and prepared to deal with the full spectrum of 21st century conflict.” In the speech, later released by the DoD, Gates also touched upon a number of “historic changes” the military has undergone during Bush’s presidency.
Those changes include a more agile Army, a growing Naval response fleet, and a larger role for the U.S. special forces in the war on terror. Gates added that the number of unmanned aerial vehicles has grown to 6,000, an increase of almost 40-fold.
Gates is not the only one commenting on the capabilities and future of the U.S. military. President Bush has made a flurry of speeches in recent weeks about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in league with farewell remarks to members of the defense community.
Another outgoing official, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, echoed many of Bush’s more triumphant remarks. In remarks on Jan. 7 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., Hadley painted an optimistic picture of conditions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, noting that recent agreements have set the goal for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq by the year 2011. In regards to Afghanistan, Hadley claimed that the U.S. “is helping the people of Afghanistan recover from years of tyranny under the Taliban.”
But Hadley admitted that his successor will face challenges under Obama’s administration. Current plans for troop levels in Afghanistan for the coming year include increasing current troop levels by 20,000 to 30,000. Several thousand of these troops have already been deployed.
Recent reports from Afghanistan indicate that despite plans to partner with local militia to improve the security situation there, the country is still rife with corruption and danger.
According to the London-based International Council on Security and Development, a resurgent Taliban now has a presence in 72 percent of the country, and the New York Times reports that the country is riddled with problems over bribery.