L’U.S. Army triple le budget de maintenance de son équipement en Irak, — jusqu’à $17 milliards

AP a obtenu des documents qui présentent l’extraordinaire augmentation des coûts de maintenance de son équipement en Irak. En un an, ce budget a triplé, pour atteindre le total général de $17 milliards. La guerre en Irak dévore les ressources militaires US et entraîne l’U.S. Army vers une déstructuration et un sous-équipement structurel sans précédent pour aucun conflit et aucune période de son histoire.

Voici un résumé par nos sources internes, du document obtenu et présenté par AP.

« The annual cost of replacing, repairing and upgrading Army equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan is expected to more than triple next year to higher than $17 billion (€13.5 billion), according to Army documents obtained by The Associated Press. From 2002 to 2006, the Army spent an average of $4 billion (€3.2 billion) a year in annual equipment costs. As the war takes a harder toll on the military, that number is projected to balloon to more than $12 billion (€9.6 billion) for the federal budget year that starts Oct. 1, the documents show. The $17 billion (€13.5 billion) also includes an additional $5 billion (€4 billion) in equipment expenses that the Army requested in previous years but has not yet been provided. The latest costs include the transfer of more than 1,200 2½-ton trucks, nearly 1,100 Humvees and $8.8 million (€7 million) in other equipment from the U.S. Army to the Iraqi security forces.

» Army and Marine Corps leaders are expected to testify before Congress on Tuesday and outline the growing costs of the war — with estimates that it will cost between $12 billion (€9.6 billion) and $13 billion (€10.4 billion) a year for equipment repairs, upgrades and replacements from now on. The Marine Corps has said in recent testimony before Congress that it would need nearly $12 billion (€9.6 billion) to replace and repair all the equipment worn out or lost to combat in the past four years. So far, the Marines have received $1.6 billion (€1.3 billion) toward those costs to replace and repair the equipment. »

Mis en ligne le 28 juin 2006 à 17H18