Military campaign in Libya could wipe out GOP's spending cuts
U.S. military operations in Libya could wipe out a significant chunk of the budget cuts won by congressional Republicans in recent weeks, defense analysts say.
GOP leaders have trumpeted enacted spending reductions that amount to more than $285 million per day since the beginning of March.
A Senate Appropriations Committee aide reported on Monday: “No word from [Defense] as of today.”
“We are working on cost estimates,” Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin said in a Monday e-mail. Pentagon officials are, for now, “cash flowing the Libyan operations out of funding available under the [2011] continuing resolution,” she added.
Sen. Dick Lugar (Ind.), the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called for “a full congressional debate on the objectives and costs” of the operations President Obama ordered.
“Congress has been squabbling for months over a budget to run the federal government for a fiscal year that is almost half over,” Lugar said in a statement Monday.
“We argue over where to cut $100 million here and there from programs many people like,” Lugar said. “So here comes an open-ended military action with no-end game envisioned.”
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), a chief liberal critic of the mission, suggested in television appearances on Monday that the military campaign could cost “half a billion dollars in the first week.”
Other estimates show a price tag of several billion...
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If You Don't Think Libya Is About Oil, Read This
The Treasury just put out a statement concerning various companies owned by Libya's National Oil Corporation that are subject to sanctions. Most intriguing is this part of the statement:
Treasury will continue monitoring the National Oil Corporation’s operations in Libya. Should National Oil Corporation subsidiaries or facilities come under different ownership and control, Treasury may consider authorizing dealings with such entities.
Here's the entire statement:
TREASURY IDENTIFIES 14 COMPANIES OWNED BY LIBYA’S NATIONAL OIL CORPORATION AS SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today identified 14 companies owned by Libya’s National Oil Corporation, as subject to sanctions pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13566.
The National Oil Corporation is the centerpiece of Libya’s state-owned oil apparatus, and controls a network of companies involved in oil exploration, production, and sale. E.O. 13566 blocks all property and interests in property of the Government of Libya and its agencies, instrumentalities and controlled entities within U.S. jurisdiction, whether specifically identified by OFAC or not. U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in business with any Libyan state-owned entity. Today’s identifications are intended to aid financial institutions in meeting their obligations under E.O. 13566.
“The Libyan National Oil Corporation has been a primary funding source for the Qadhafi regime,” said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. “Consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 1973, all governments should block the National Oil Corporation's assets and ensure that Qadhafi cannot use this network of companies to support his activities.”
Treasury will continue monitoring the National Oil Corporation’s operations in Libya. Should National Oil Corporation subsidiaries or facilities come under different ownership and control, Treasury may consider authorizing dealings with such entities.
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2011/03/if-you-dont-think-libya-is-about-oil.html