MOD Clueless On Cost Of Afghan War

Tory MP James Arbuthnot, the committee chairman, said: ‘We find it frustrating that in some instances the department appears to be unable or unwilling to provide the kind of detailed information we ask for, notably in respect of the total cost of military operations and the detail of savings proposed.’Andrew Burgin, of the Stop The War Coalition, said: ‘It is alarming that the MoD doesn’t know the full cost of the wars that it is pursuing, but hardly surprising when we are in the dark as to why were are involved in the first place.’Thomas Docherty, a Labour MP on the defence committee, said: ‘Either the MoD is simply financially incompetent or they are being very cute and creative about which bits of the war they want the Treasury to pay for.’Under a long-standing Whitehall practice, the Treasury picks up the tab for conflicts Britain fights, including equipment bought specifically for the theatre of war.But the MoD is meant to cover other costs, including training exercises, soldiers’ wages and paying for their long-term injuries and mental health care, and existing equipment. More here.