The Future of Overseas Contingency Operations in Afghanistan
The President’s budget this past year reflect a unified approach to budgeting for the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of State, and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) operations in conflict areas. By aligning priority missions across these agencies, the Budget takes advantage of the efficiencies, improves coordination, and reduced overall costs. Further, isolating the military and civilian costs related to temporary and extraordinary requirements in the OCO request promotes transparency and efficiency across the security agencies of the Federal Government. The President’s 2013 Budget provided $96.7 billion for these operations, a reduction of 24 percent below last years enacted level.
The Budget also reflects the Administration’s efforts to constrain OCO spending in the years beyond 2013. The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) established year-by-year caps on discretionary spending for agencies’ base budgets through 2021, reducing the 10-year budget deficit by about $1 trillion. However, the BCA did not limit OCO funding.
Leaving OCO funding unconstrained could allow future Administrations and Congresses to use it as a convenient vehicle to evade the fiscal discipline that the BCA caps require elsewhere in the Budget. With the end of our military presence in Iraq, and as troops continue to draw down in Afghanistan, the Budget proposes a binding cap on OCO spending, as well. From 2013 through 2021, the Budget limits OCO appropriations to $450 billion. Given the need for ample flexibility in budgeting for overseas contingencies, this is a multi-year total cap, rather than
a series of year-by-year caps, and future Congresses may adjust it in the event of a national emergency requiring additional OCO spending.
Transitions from Military to Civilian led Missions
The Budget funded several key efforts in the transition from military to civilian-led missions, including:
• Supporting a smaller number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, down from about 100,000 at the beginning of 2012 to about 68,000 at the beginning of 2013.
• Supporting the continued development and professionalization of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), enabling the ANSF to take increasing responsibility for the security of Afghanistan.
• Laying the groundwork to expand the civilian footprint in Afghanistan as U.S. forces draw down, while focusing civilian assistance on foundational investments in economic growth, reconciliation and reintegration, and capacity building.
• Reducing Iraq-related costs dramatically, reflecting the withdrawal of U.S. troops completed in December 2011.
• Strengthening the State Department’s capacity to manage over 400 essential activities that it has taken over from DOD at Embassy Baghdad and three regional consulates in Iraq.
• Operating police and criminal justice hub facilities and security cooperation sites to continue enhancing Iraqi security forces and civilian ministries.
Reduces Defense Spending in Line with Troop Withdrawals.
The Budget reflects a significant decrease in the OCO request for DOD, from $115.3 billion enacted in 2012 to $88.5 billion requested in 2013. This reflects the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and a 30 percent decline in the number of troops deployed to Afghanistan. Nearly all of these DOD funds support Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which is primarily conducted in Afghanistan. For OEF, the Budget funds military operations, incremental personnel costs, force protection, repair and replacement
of damaged equipment, activities to counter and defeat improvised explosive devices, intelligence activities, support for coalition partners, and the training, equipping, and sustaining of the ANSF. To support implementation of the Nation’s new defense strategy, the Budget funds, within the OCO request, the portion of the Army and Marine Corps end strength that DOD will remove from the force within the next five years. This end strength supports current operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere, but will not be required as troops withdraw.
The Budget provides $2.9 billion to support DOD’s Iraq-related costs, including repair and replacement of equipment leaving the country, replenishment of munitions previously expended in combat, and the operation of the Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq (OSC-I). This is a reduction of about $7 billion from the 2012 enacted level for Iraq. Under the aegis of the U.S. diplomatic mission to Iraq, OSC-I is the cornerstone of the U.S.-Iraqi strategic security partnership and serves as the hub of both security assistance and security cooperation activities, including cooperation on counterterrorism, counterproliferation, maritime security, and air defense.
Provides Department of State and USAID Funding for Civilian-Led Missions.
The Budget reflects the OCO costs associated with Department of State and USAID activities in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Overall, the 2013 request for OCO represents a decrease of $2.9 billion from the 2012 enacted level, and reflects a more conservative OCO definition that avoids the risk of inadequate base funding for enduring activities once OCO funding under the proposed cap is exhausted. These 2013 OCO costs are limited to certain near-term operational, security and development components of assistance programs related to stabilization and counterinsurgency operations, protection of civilian personnel, and oversight activities of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan. In Iraq, these temporary operations and assistance programs are necessary to sustain a civilian-led mission; strengthen the capacity of the Iraqi government through police training, criminal justice programs, and military assistance; and ensure the Department and USAID have the necessary resources to support and secure the diplomatic mission. For Afghanistan and Pakistan, unique challenges require near-term stabilization and development assistance to support a responsible security transition in Afghanistan and support Pakistan’s counterinsurgency programs. In Afghanistan, OCO funding will provide the initial infrastructure to maintain the diplomatic platform and security posture as Afghan forces take greater responsibility for security operations.