Base infrastructure spending outpaced troop numbers threefold in Iraq and Afghanistan

Evidence

According to a Congressional Research Service report, the Pentagon “built up a far more extensive infrastructure than anticipated to support troops and equipment.” Funds for the operation and maintenance of bases, including food and amenities, grew three times as fast as the number of deployed troops would suggest. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 716

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: infrastructure overruns as evidence that ‘temporary’ counterinsurgency missions structurally produce permanent bases.