The Rising Cost of Defense
| Date | Tuesday, February 26, 2008 |
| Location | Senate Capitol Building, Room S115 |
Professor of Politics Daniel Wirls, at the University of California Santa Cruz, joined us for a discussion on escalating defense costs. From 2000 to 2008 defense spending increased over 70 percent,excluding the more than $500 billion separately appropriated since 2002 to cover the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 9-11, the US has undertaken one of the largest increases in military spending in the country’s history. US forces are engaged in protracted conflicts, and DOD plans to expand ground force end strength to meet the current rate of deployments. However, budget projections accounting for rising weapons acquisition along with operational and support costs threaten to outpace even current budget allocations. Moreover, some analysts suggest that major cuts in modernization programs and/or reductions in force structure are required to make long term defense plans affordable. What factors are driving the underlying escalation of defense costs? What are the long term budget implications of current defense plans? Will the DOD continue to rely on supplemental funding to finance operations and procurement? What defense budgeting choices lie ahead for the next administration?