True overseas base costs exceed the official Pentagon total by over threefold

Evidence

Since 2012, Pentagon spending has fallen somewhat, due to the end of U.S. operations in Iraq, the gradual withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and Congress’s sequestration process. Accounting for those declines and adjusting my estimate for the latest complete fiscal year, 2014, yields an estimate of 64.4 billion for the costs of bases and troops abroad outside war zones. Adding the costs of bases and troops in Afghanistan and other war zones would bring the total to around 136 billion for 2014. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 647 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Independent estimates of overseas base costs exceed official figures tenfold; Overseas bases cost more to run than domestic ones despite host-nation support; Official overseas base costs for 2012 totaled 22.7 billion dollars — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 604 (+5 more)

Related

• Overseas bases and troops cost around $136 billion in 2014 (similarity 0.96)
• Independent estimates of overseas base costs exceed official figures tenfold (similarity 0.96)
• Official overseas base costs for 2012 totaled 22.7 billion dollars (similarity 0.93)
• Overseas bases cost more to run than domestic ones despite host-nation support (similarity 0.93)
• U.S. bases and troops abroad cost about $170 billion in 2012 (similarity 0.93)
• US overseas bases cost taxpayers at least $71.8 billion annually (similarity 0.92)
• War appropriations added about $80.6 billion in 2012 toward maintaining overseas bases (similarity 0.92)
• Official Pentagon figures understate overseas base costs by over fivefold (similarity 0.92)
• Total overseas base costs reached $170 billion for fiscal year 2012. (similarity 0.89)
• Official overseas base cost figures exclude all war-zone maintenance spending (similarity 0.89)
• Independent estimates put overseas base costs tenfold above the Pentagon’s figure (similarity 0.88)
• Official base cost tallies exclude billions in classified overseas programs (similarity 0.87)
• Overseas base spending exceeds every federal agency’s budget except Defense. (similarity 0.87)
• Official overseas base costs undercount true spending by more than threefold. (similarity 0.87)
• Secret overseas base spending likely exceeds the official estimate. (similarity 0.87)

Broader Connections

• Official Pentagon spending figures on overseas bases are underestimates. #corroborates (0.90)
• The Pentagon’s overseas cost summary omits most defense-wide spending. #corroborates (0.85)
• Overseas bases and troops cost around $136 billion in 2014 #corroborates (0.70) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 647
• US overseas bases cost taxpayers at least $71.8 billion annually #corroborates (0.60) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 29
• War appropriations added about $80.6 billion in 2012 toward maintaining overseas bases #corroborates (0.60)