The basic defense budget for 2007 was $439.3 billion, up 48 percent from 2001, excluding (emphasis mine) the vast additional sums appropriated for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to federal regulators and current and former Pentagon officials, the accounting process is so obsolete and error prone that it's virtually impossible to tell where much of this money ends up. While the department's brass has made a few patchwork improvements, billions are still unaccounted for. The problem is so deeply rooted that, 18 years after Congress required major federal agencies to be audited, the Pentagon still can't be.
From this fascinating, highly informative, and mouth-frothingly frustrating article from politico.com.
A must-read.
Add an estimated $700 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (from Feb. 2008). With this number we have increased the budget 434% on the military and for the wars since 9/11. Keep in mind this number is going up daily and that we are not paying for it, but paying it forward to future generations with interest.
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