As of March 2011, Congress had approved a total of more than $1.2 trillion dollars for costs associated with the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and other post-9/11 “war on terror” operations, the Congressional Research Service said in its most recent update on the subject. See “The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11,” March 29, 2011.
Other new or newly updated CRS reports include the following (all pdf).
“Afghanistan Casualties: Military Forces and Civilians,” April 6, 2011.
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Terrorism Investigations,” April 27, 2011.
“U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress,” March 28, 2011.
“Sensitive Covert Action Notifications: Oversight Options for Congress,” April 6, 2011.
“Covert Action: Legislative Background and Possible Policy Questions,” April 6, 2011.
The human cost is measured in deaths. The financial cost is measured in the $52 billion taxpayers pay annually end stage renal disease – double NASA’s budget.
Gilman Louie, Longest Serving Board Chair of the Federation of American Scientists, Named Chair Emeritus
The proposed Office will resurrect the long-closed Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), the archive of which has been maintained by FAS for decades at https://ota.fas.org/.
If Congress needs help understanding the risks and rewards of a piece of technology, they shouldn’t have to rely solely on the sparknotes from a salesman. The rub is much simpler: Congress needs nerds.