Paying for War

The challenge of budgeting for military operations was not a new one that the U.S. faced in the early 2000s. Since World War II, the U.S. has conducted major multiyear military operations in Korea and Vietnam. Yet the methods used to budget for operations since 2001 were very different than during these previous operations. In prior operations, the wartime budgets were largely merged or subsumed within the annual defense budgets within two or three years. However, an alternate wartime budget, either in the form of supplemental appropriations or a separate title in the annual appropriations bill, has been used throughout recent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. This dissertation documents the findings and recommendations from an analysis of the outcomes from using separate wartime budgets during prolonged operations. The outcomes explored within the dissertation range from the changes in budgetary influence that the executive and legislative branches have in certain situations to identifying budgetary challenges that will likely emerge as operations conclude.