GAO-07-783R Global War on Terrorism 

United States Government Accountability Office

Washington, DC 20548 

May 18, 2007 

The Honorable Carl Levin 

Chairman 

The Honorable John McCain 

Ranking Member 

Committee on Armed Services 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye 

Chairman 

The Honorable Ted Stevens 

Ranking Member 

Subcommittee on Defense 

Committee on Appropriations 

United States Senate 

The Honorable Ike Skelton 

Chairman 

The Honorable Duncan Hunter 

Ranking Member 

Committee on Armed Services 

House of Representatives 

The Honorable John P. Murtha 

Chairman 

The Honorable C. W. Bill Young 

Ranking Member 

Subcommittee on Defense 

Committee on Appropriations 

House of Representatives 

Subject: Global War on Terrorism: Reported Obligations for the Department of 

Defense

Since 2001, Congress has provided the Department of Defense (DOD) with hundreds 

of billions of dollars in supplemental and annual appropriations for military 
Page 2 GAO-07-783R Global War on Terrorism 

 

operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT).1 DOD’s reported 

annual costs for GWOT have shown a steady increase from about $0.2 billion in fiscal 

year 2001 to about $98.4 billion in fiscal year 2006. So far in fiscal year 2007, Congress 

has provided DOD with $70 billion in annual appropriations2

 for GWOT. To continue 

its GWOT operations, DOD has requested an additional $93.4 billion in supplemental 

appropriations for fiscal year 2007 and $141.7 billion in appropriations for fiscal year 

2008. The United States’ commitments to GWOT will likely involve the continued 

investment of significant resources, requiring decision makers to consider difficult 

trade-offs as the nation faces an increasing long-range fiscal challenge. The 

magnitude of future costs will depend on several direct and indirect cost variables 

and, in some cases, decisions that have not yet been made. DOD’s future costs will 

likely be affected by the pace and duration of operations, the types of facilities 

needed to support troops overseas, redeployment plans, and the amount of 

equipment to be repaired or replaced.3

DOD compiles and reports monthly and cumulative incremental obligations4

 incurred 

to support GWOT in a monthly Supplemental and Cost of War Execution Report. 

DOD leadership uses this report, along with other information, to advise Congress on 

the costs of the war and to formulate future GWOT budget requests. DOD reports 

these obligations by appropriation, contingency operation,5

 and military service or 

defense agency. The monthly cost reports are typically compiled in the 45 days after 

the end of the reporting month in which the obligations are incurred.6

 DOD has 

prepared monthly reports on the obligations incurred for its involvement in GWOT 

since fiscal year 2001. 

Section 1221 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 20067

 requires 

us to submit quarterly updates to Congress on the costs of Operation Iraqi Freedom 

and Operation Enduring Freedom based on DOD’s monthly Supplemental and Cost 

1

 After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the President announced a Global War on Terrorism, 

requiring the collective instruments of the entire federal government to counter the threat of terrorism. Ongoing 

military and diplomatic operations overseas, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, constitute a key part of GWOT. 

These operations involve a wide variety of activities, such as combating insurgents, civil affairs, capacity 

building, infrastructure reconstruction, and training military forces of other nations. 2

 That portion of annual appropriations designated for GWOT, also known as Title IX or bridge funding, was 

provided by Congress to pay for ongoing military operations during the first part of the fiscal year. 

3

 For more information see GAO, Securing, Stabilizing, and Rebuilding Iraq: Key Issues for Congressional 

Oversight, GAO-07-308SP (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 9, 2007), and Global War on Terrorism: Observations on 

Funding, Costs, and Future Commitments, GAO-06-885T (Washington, D.C.: July 18, 2006). 4

 According to Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation, 7000.14-R, Volume 1, Definitions, 

p. xvii (December 2001), obligations are incurred through actions such as orders placed, contracts awarded, 

services received, or similar transactions made by federal agencies during a given period that will require 

payments during the same or a future period. 

5

 DOD defines contingency operations to include small, medium, and large-scale campaign-level military 

operations, including support for peacekeeping operations, major humanitarian assistance efforts, noncombatant 

evacuation operations, and international disaster relief efforts. 

6

 Volume 12, Chapter 23, of DOD Financial Management Regulation, 7000.14-R. This regulation generally 

establishes financial policy and procedures related to DOD contingency operations. Volume 6A, Chapter 2, and 

Volume 3, Chapter 8, of the DOD Financial Management Regulation also include provisions to ensure the 

accuracy of cost reporting. 

7

 Pub. L. No. 109-163, § 1221(c) (2006). 
Page 3 GAO-07-783R Global War on Terrorism 

 

of War Execution Reports. This report, which responds to this requirement, contains 

our analysis of DOD’s reported obligations for military operations in support of 

GWOT through February 2007. Specifically, we assessed (1) DOD’s appropriations 

and reported obligations for military operations in support of GWOT to date and (2) 

DOD’s fiscal year 2007 reported obligations for GWOT by military service and 

appropriation account. 

Scope and Methodology 

To conduct our work, we analyzed applicable annual and supplemental 

appropriations from fiscal year 2001 through February 2007 and DOD’s monthly 

Supplemental and Cost of War Execution Reports from September 2001 to February 

2007. Specifically, we identified appropriated amounts intended for GWOT and 

reported GWOT obligations for each operation, military service, and appropriation 

account. Our prior work8

 has found the data in DOD’s monthly Supplemental and 

Cost of War Execution Report to be of questionable reliability. Consequently, we are 

unable to ensure that DOD’s reported obligations for GWOT are complete, reliable, 

and accurate, and they therefore should be considered approximations. Factors 

contributing to DOD’s challenges in reporting reliable cost data include long standing 

deficiencies in DOD’s financial management systems. 

DOD is taking steps to improve GWOT cost reporting. Specifically, over the years, we 

have made a series of recommendations to the Secretary of Defense intended to 

improve the transparency and reliability of DOD’s GWOT obligations and DOD has 

implemented many of these recommendations. For example we have recommended 

that DOD (1) revise the cost reporting guidance so that large amounts of reported 

obligations are not shown in “other” miscellaneous categories and (2) take steps to 

ensure that reported GWOT obligations are reliable. In response, DOD has modified 

the guidance to more clearly define some of the cost categories and is taking 

additional steps, which we have not yet fully evaluated, to strengthen the oversight 

and program management of the cost reporting. We are continuing to review the 

fiscal year 2007 funding requirements and reported obligations, the reliability of the 

obligations, and DOD’s ongoing efforts to improve its cost reporting, which include 

procedures for attesting to the accuracy of data and analyzing variances. We will 

report on our findings later this year. 

We conducted our work from March 2007 through April 2007 in accordance with 

generally accepted government auditing standards. 

8

 For more information see GAO, Global War on Terrorism: DOD Needs to Improve the Reliability of Cost 

Data and Provide Additional Guidance to Control Costs, GAO-05-882 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 21, 2005), and 

Global War on Terrorism: Fiscal Year 2006 Obligation Rates Are Within Funding Levels and Significant 

Multiyear Procurement Funds Will Likely Remain Available for Use in Fiscal Year 2007, GAO-07-76 

(Washington, D.C.: Nov. 13, 2006). 
Page 4 GAO-07-783R Global War on Terrorism 

 

Summary 

From fiscal year 2001 through April 2007, Congress has provided DOD with about 

$454 billion9

 for its efforts in support of GWOT. DOD has reported obligations of 

about $407.1 billion for military operations in support of the war from fiscal years 

2001 through 2006 and from the beginning of fiscal year 2007 through February 2007, 

the latest available data. The $46.9 billion difference between DOD’s GWOT 

appropriations and reported obligations can generally be attributed to certain fiscal 

year 2007 appropriations and multiyear funding for procurement; military 

construction; and research, development, test, and evaluation from previous GWOTrelated appropriations that have yet to be obligated, and obligations for classified 

activities, which are not included in DOD’s reported obligations.10 DOD’s total 

reported obligations related to GWOT have demonstrated a steady annual increase 

each fiscal year through 2006. Figure 1 shows DOD’s reported GWOT obligations by 

fiscal year, from fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2006 and from the beginning of 

fiscal year 2007 through February 2007. 

9 From fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2004, military operations in defense of the homeland (Operation 

Noble Eagle) were funded through supplemental appropriations. Since fiscal year 2005, DOD has funded these 

operations through its regular budget, and these amounts cannot be separately identified. DOD recently began 

including the obligations tied to this operation, about $3 billion, as part of its total available funding, which is 

included in the $454 billion.

10 Appropriations for military personnel and operation and maintenance are usually available for 1 year, while 

appropriations for research and development funds are usually available for 2 years; procurement funds (with 

the exception of shipbuilding funds, which are sometimes longer) for 3 years; and military construction funds 

for 5 years. 
Page 5 GAO-07-783R Global War on Terrorism 

Figure 1: DOD’s Reported GWOT Obligations for Fiscal Years 2001 through 2006 and 

from the Beginning of Fiscal Year 2007 through February 2007 

Notes: Fiscal year 2007 reflects DOD’s reported obligations from October 2006 through February 2007. Reported GWOT

obligations include Operation Noble Eagle, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Figures include about 

$19.4 billion obligated in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, which was not included in DOD’s cost-of-war reports. This includes about

$13.3 billion from the Defense Emergency Response Fund and $6.1 billion from Pub. L. No. 108-7 (Consolidated Appropriations

Resolution, 2003). GAO has assessed the reliability of DOD’s obligation data and found significant problems, such that these data

may not accurately reflect the true dollar value of GWOT obligations. 

Through February 2007, DOD’s total reported obligations are already more than half 

the total amount of obligations it reported for all of fiscal year 2006. In addition, 

DOD’s reported investment obligations—which include procurement; research, 

development, test, and evaluation; and military construction, through February 

2007—are approximately equal to its reported obligations for investments during all 

of fiscal year 2006. As a result, total reported obligations for fiscal year 2007 may well 

exceed the amount reported for fiscal year 2006. 

DOD’s reported obligations to date include about $304.6 billion for operations in and 

around Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and about $74.2 billion for operations 

in Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, the Philippines, and elsewhere as part of 

Operation Enduring Freedom. It also includes about $28.3 billion for operations in 

defense of the homeland as part of Operation Noble Eagle. Figure 2 shows DOD’s 

reported GWOT obligations for Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring 

Freedom, and Operation Noble Eagle from fiscal year 2001 through February of fiscal 

year 2007. 
Page 6 GAO-07-783R Global War on Terrorism 

Figure 2: DOD’s Reported GWOT Obligations by Operation for Fiscal Years 2001 

through 2006 and from the Beginning of Fiscal Year 2007 through February 2007 

Notes: Fiscal year 2007 reflects DOD’s reported obligations from October 2006 through February 2007. Operation Iraqi Freedom 

began in fiscal year 2003; therefore no obligations were reported in fiscal years 2001 and 2002 for this operation. Figures include 

about $19.4 billion obligated in fiscal years 2002 and 2003 that was not included in DOD’s cost-of-war reports. This includes 

about $4.1 billion for Operation Enduring Freedom, $9.2 billion for Operation Noble Eagle, and $6.1 billion for Operation Iraqi

Freedom. GAO has assessed the reliability of DOD’s obligation data and found significant problems, such that these data may 

not accurately reflect the true dollar value of GWOT obligations. 

As figure 2 shows, from fiscal years 2003 through 2006 DOD’s reported obligations for 

Operation Iraqi Freedom consistently increased both in dollar amount and as a 

proportion of total reported GWOT obligations. In contrast, DOD’s reported 

obligations for Operation Noble Eagle have consistently decreased since fiscal year 

2003, while those for Operation Enduring Freedom have remained within a range of 

$10.3 billion to $15.9 billion each fiscal year. 

DOD’s reported fiscal year 2007 obligations as of February total $55.3 billion. The 

Army accounts for the largest proportion of reported obligations—about $41.6 billion, 

about ten times higher than the near $4.3 billion in obligations reported for the Air 

Force, the service with the next greatest reported amount. Among appropriation 

accounts, operation and maintenance, which include items such as support for 

housing, food, and services; the repair of equipment; and transportation to move 

people, supplies, and equipment, accounts for the largest reported obligations—about 

$26.8 billion. Obligations for investment, which include procurement; research, 
Page 7 GAO-07-783R Global War on Terrorism 

development, test, and evaluation; and military construction, account for more than a 

quarter of reported obligations or about $16.4 billion. Figure 3 shows DOD’s reported 

obligations through February of fiscal year 2007, by military service and 

appropriation account.

Figure 3: DOD’s Reported GWOT Obligations for Fiscal Year 2007, by Military Service 

and Appropriation Category, as of February 2007 

Notes: GAO has assessed the reliability of DOD’s obligation data and found significant problems, such that these data may not 

accurately reflect the true dollar value of GWOT obligations. Obligation figures may not add to $55.3 billion because of rounding. 

In previous work,11 we reported that significant amounts of multiyear procurement 

funding provided in the fiscal year 2006 supplemental appropriation would likely not 

be obligated by DOD in fiscal year 2006 and would remain available for use in fiscal 

year 2007. A large amount of these multiyear funds has since been obligated, which 

accounts for the large amount of investment obligations shown in fiscal year 2007. 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 

In written comments on a draft of this report, DOD stated that it has already taken 

action to address concerns we have raised regarding the reliability of the data 

presented in DOD’s Supplemental and Cost of War Execution Reports, including 

requiring component organizations to attest to the accuracy of the data submitted, 

report data variances and the methodology for computing the data, and increased 

management oversight of the cost reporting process. DOD also expressed concern 

that we continue to represent the data in these cost-of-war reports as being of 

questionable reliability. We agree that DOD has taken steps to improve cost 

reporting, which we acknowledge in our report. We also note DOD is just beginning 

to implement many of these efforts, and that we are continuing to evaluate them. As 

we state in our scope and methodology section, we are currently evaluating the 

attestation and variance analysis processes to gain insights into their effect on data 

 11 GAO-07-76.
Page 8 GAO-07-783R Global War on Terrorism 

reliability. Until all DOD’s efforts are more fully implemented, it is too soon to know 

the extent to which these changes will improve DOD's cost reporting. While 

establishing sound cost reporting procedures and oversight is clearly important, the 

reliability of the cost-of-war reports is also dependent on the quality of DOD's 

accounting data. As stated in our report, factors contributing to DOD's challenges in 

reporting reliable cost data include long standing deficiencies in DOD's financial 

management systems. We are aware that DOD has efforts underway to improve these 

systems as well. DOD also provided technical comments and we have incorporated 

them in the report as appropriate. DOD’s comments are included in appendix I in this 

report. 

- - - - - 

We are sending copies of this report to interested congressional committees; the 

Secretary of Defense; the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller); and the 

Director, Office of Management and Budget. Copies of this report will also be made 

available to others upon request. In addition, this report will be available at no charge 

on the GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov. 

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact me at (202) 

512-9619 or pickups@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional 

Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. Key 

contributors to this report are listed in appendix II. 

Sharon Pickup 

Director, Defense Capabilities and Management 
Page 9 GAO-07-783R Global War on Terrorism 

Appendix I: Comments from the Department of Defense 
Page 10 GAO-07-783R Global War on Terrorism 

Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgements 

GAO Contact 

Sharon Pickup (202) 512-9619 

Acknowledgements 

In addition to the contact listed above, Ann Borseth, Assistant Director, Susan Ditto, 

George Duncan, Richard Geiger, Ron La Due Lake, Brian Mateja, Lonnie McAllister, 

Christopher Miller, and Thomas Twambly made key contributions to this report. 

(350991) 
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