Cost and Financing of Operation Desert Shield
Abstract
The total U.S. cost of Operation Desert Shield without any hostilities could exceed $130 billion in fiscal year 1991, assuming the forces now in place remain there throughout the fiscal year. This cost consists of three components. One is the baseline cost of the U.S. forces committed to Desert Shield, which is already provided for in the fiscal year 1991 budget. We estimate the cost of paying, equipping, and maintaining these forces to be nearly $100 billion in fiscal year 1991. These funds would be expended whether the troops were in the Middle East or elsewhere. A second component is the incremental cost of mounting the operation, including deploying the troops, calling up the reserves, and providing the required additional support for the forces. Estimates of this cost for more than 400,000 troops are in the $30 billion range for fiscal year 1991. The third component involves other related costs such as debt forgiveness for Egypt and humanitarian assistance. We estimate this cost to be about $7 billion. Should there be an armed conflict, others have estimated that expenditures could total hundreds of millions of dollars more per day, particularly in the early days of the conflict
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA267427
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office