By
Jo Comerford
Posted:
|
Military & Security
10 numbers you need to know:
$1.26 Trillion – Total amount appropriated by Congress for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through the end of Fiscal Year 2011 (September 30, 2011) – $797.3 billion for Iraq and $459.8 billion for Afghanistan.
$7.6 Trillion – The total amount spent on “security” by the U.S. government since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (through the end of Fiscal Year 2011).
96 Percent – The percentage increase in “Security” discretionary spending (Defense Department, weapons activities of the Department of Energy, homeland security, international affairs and veterans affairs) from FY2000 to FY2011.
Versus 39 Percent – The percentage increase of “non-security” discretionary spending over the same period. (Note: both figures are based on inflation-adjusted “real” increases in spending.)
301 Percent – The increase in annual funding for "Homeland Security" since 9/11. Annual spending rose from $16 billion in FY2001 to $69.1 billion in FY2011 (adjusted for inflation).
$235.6 Billion – The increase in the Pentagon’s annual “Base” budget (not including war costs or the nuclear weapons activities of the Department of Energy) from FY2000 to FY2011. The Pentagon’s annual budget rose from $290.5 billion to $526.1 billion (in constant FY 2012 dollars), a real increase of 43 percent.
$6.6 Billion – The increase in the Department of Energy’s budget for nuclear weapons activities over the same period. DoE’s weapons budget rose from $12.4 billion to $19.0 billion (in constant FY 2012 dollars), a real increase of 21 percent.
39 Percent – The percentage of interest on the national debt related to past military spending. Net interest on the national debt for Fiscal Year 2011 is estimated at $207 billion, of which past military spending would account for roughly $80 billion.
65 Percent – The percentage of total global military spending accounted for by the United States (42%) and our NATO allies (23%) NOTE: this doesn’t include our other allies – Japan, South Korea, Israel. Source: The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
12 to 1 – The ratio of “offensive” security spending in the U.S. federal budget, compared to the amount spent on “preventive” security. Source: “A Unified Security Budget for the United States, FY 2012,” by the Institute for Policy Studies' Foreign Policy in Focus.
Much more cost of war information available at http://costofwar.com/en/publications/2011/ten-years-after-911/.
http://www.facebook.com/nationalpriorities
http://www.twitter.com/natpriorities
