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AGAO
Accountability * Integrity * Reliability
United States Government Accountability Office
Washington, DC 20548
June 13, 2008
Congressional Committees
Subject: Global War on Terrorism: Reported Obligations for the Department of Defense
Since 2001, Congress has provided the Department of Defense (DOD) with hundreds of
billions of dollars in supplemental and annual appropriations for military operations in
support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).' DOD's reported annual obligations2 for
GWOT have shown a steady increase from about $0.2 billion in fiscal year 2001 to about
$139.8 billion in fiscal year 2007. To continue GWOT operations, the President requested
$189.3 billion in appropriations for DOD in fiscal year 2008. As of May 2008, Congress has
provided DOD with about $86.8 billion of this request, including $16.8 billion for Mine
Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles. Congress has not finalized action on the remaining
$102.5 billion. In addition, the President also requested about $66 billion in appropriations
for DOD in fiscal year 2009 for GWOT, which was submitted along with DOD's annual
budget request. The United States' commitments to GWOT will likely involve the continued
investment of significant resources, requiring decision makers to consider difficult trade-offs
as the nation faces an increasing long-range fiscal challenge. The magnitude of future costs
will depend on several direct and indirect cost variables and, in some cases, decisions that
have not yet been made. DOD's future costs will likely be affected by the pace and duration
of operations, the types of facilities needed to support troops overseas, redeployment plans,
and the amount of equipment to be repaired or replaced.3
DOD compiles and reports monthly and cumulative incremental obligations incurred to
support GWOT in a monthly Supplemental and Cost of War Execution Report. DOD
leadership uses this report, along with other information, to advise Congress on the costs of
the war and to formulate future GWOT budget requests. DOD reports these obligations by
appropriation, contingency operation,4 and military service or defense agency. The monthly
'After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the President announced a Global War on Terrorism,
requiring the collective instruments of the entire federal government to counter the threat of terrorism.
Ongoing military and diplomatic operations overseas, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, constitute a key part
of GWOT. These operations involve a wide variety of activities, such as combating insurgents, training the
military forces of other nations, and conducting small-scale reconstruction and humanitarian relief projects.
2According to Department of Defense, Financial Management Regulation, 7000.14-R, vol. 1, "Definitions"
(Dec. 2001), xvii, obligations are incurred through actions such as orders placed, contracts awarded, services
received, or similar transactions made by federal agencies during a given period that will require payments
during the same or a future period.
3For more information see GAO, Securing, Stabilizing, and Rebuilding Iraq: Key Issues for Congressional
Oversight, GAO-07-308SP (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 9, 2007), and Global War on Terrorism: Observations on
Funding, Costs, and Future Commitments, GAO-06-885T (Washington, D.C.: July 18, 2006).
4DOD defines contingency operations to include small, medium, and large-scale campaign-level military
operations, including support for peacekeeping operations, major humanitarian assistance efforts,
noncombatant evacuation operations, and international disaster relief efforts.GAO-08-853R Global War on Terrorism
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United States. Government Accountability Office. Global War on Terrorism: Reported Obligations for the Department of Defense, text, June 13, 2008; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc299414/m1/1/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.