Monday
Nov302009
Obama Administration Must Pay For Afghanistan Mission Says Liberal Think Tank
Monday, November 30, 2009 at 4:08PM
By Leah Valencia - University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service
Several Center for American Progress (CAP) officials said during a conference call Monday that the United States must find a sustainable method to fund the cost of the war and military aid in Afghanistan.
“It is important, and I can’t stress it enough, that we do not continue to accumulate more debt and borrow more money to deal with this situation,” said CAP Senior Fellow Lawrence Korb.
The CAP discussion took place on the day before President Barack Obama is scheduled to reveal his new strategy in Afghanistan. With military operations expenditures in Afghanistan on the rise - current costs amount to an average of $3.6 billion per month - Obama has been under pressure to explain how the U.S. will continue to fund future efforts there.
“It has been a disgrace that we have fought these two extended conflicts, in Iraq and Afghanistan, without paying for them; it is time to stop that now,” Korb said. “This is the first extended conflict we fought, where we have basically borrowed money.”
Obama is expected to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, 10,000 fewer than were requested earlier this year by NATO Commander General Stanley McChrystal.
White House budget director Peter Orszag has estimated that sending an additional 30,000 troops there will cost the U.S. an additional $30 billion dollars a year.
Several Center for American Progress (CAP) officials said during a conference call Monday that the United States must find a sustainable method to fund the cost of the war and military aid in Afghanistan.
“It is important, and I can’t stress it enough, that we do not continue to accumulate more debt and borrow more money to deal with this situation,” said CAP Senior Fellow Lawrence Korb.
The CAP discussion took place on the day before President Barack Obama is scheduled to reveal his new strategy in Afghanistan. With military operations expenditures in Afghanistan on the rise - current costs amount to an average of $3.6 billion per month - Obama has been under pressure to explain how the U.S. will continue to fund future efforts there.
“It has been a disgrace that we have fought these two extended conflicts, in Iraq and Afghanistan, without paying for them; it is time to stop that now,” Korb said. “This is the first extended conflict we fought, where we have basically borrowed money.”
Obama is expected to send 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, 10,000 fewer than were requested earlier this year by NATO Commander General Stanley McChrystal.
White House budget director Peter Orszag has estimated that sending an additional 30,000 troops there will cost the U.S. an additional $30 billion dollars a year.
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