U.S. Military ’Mission’ in Iraq Costing $7.5 Million a Day

Local Editor

The U.S. military has claimed that its bombing raids and other operations in Iraq have been costing American taxpayers an average of $7.5 million per day, according to the Pentagon on Friday.

This is since the U.S. military began its operation in Iraq in mid-June under the pretext of action against so-called "Islamic State" [IS] extremists though no significant effort has emerged.

The Friday announcement by Pentagon's Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby comes amid numerous complaints by Iraqi officials about the lack of Washington's cooperation with Baghdad in delivering timely response to IS's terror moves as well as U.S. refusal to provide intelligence data on movements of the extremists, who have captured numerous Iraqi towns and villages and committed huge atrocities against the local civilian population.

"It's costing us about $7.5 million per day," said Kirby, claiming that U.S. involvement in operations against the IS began on June 16.

"As our op [operational] tempo and as our activities have intensified, so, too, has the cost," Kirby said, noting that the figures were based on a snapshot of expenses between June 16 and August 26.

While he did not offer an estimate of the Pentagon's total costs so far, but an average cost of $7.5 million per day for 71 days would mean the U.S. military has spent roughly $532 million.

The estimate includes fuel for flying reconnaissance and strike missions, the cost of missiles and other weapons fired, as well as some payments for personnel, military officials said.

Moreover, this is while the U.S. authorities claim that the military has so far carried out 110 air strikes as well as conducting nearly 60 aerial reconnaissance missions per day. In addition, Washington has deployed more than 800 troops to Iraq in a supposed effort to evaluate the IS terror campaign in the country.

The operation is being paid for from the Pentagon's war-spending budget, which included some $80 billion in 2014, mainly for the conflict in Afghanistan.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team