Government Documents for You

**Description taken from SIGAR's website**

The United States has committed almost $32 billion in humanitarian and other aid to Afghanistan since 2001. This amount constitutes the largest single contribution of any nation supporting the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan. When paired with the $25 billion provided by 60 other countries since the fall of the Taliban regime, the total international non-military investment in the rebuilding of Afghanistan exceeds $57 billion. To provide for the independent and objective conduct and supervision of audits, inspections, and investigations relating to these funds, Congress created the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). As such, the Office of the SIGAR is charged with overseeing the accounting for monies expended for the effective reconstruction of Afghanistan, so that it is internally and externally secure, democratic, and inhospitable to terrorism, drug trafficking, and narcotic cultivation.

The appointment of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, endowed with broad investigative powers and underpinned by independence and collegiality, constitutes a formidable and compelling instrument to make oversight of reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan a reality.

SIGAR releases quarterly reports, which can be found at the following website: http://www.sigar.mil/reports/quarterlyreports/Default.aspx

Oversight Mission and Plans: http://www.sigar.mil/reports/missions.aspx

Congressional Testimony: http://www.sigar.mil/reports/testimony/Default.aspx

The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) is an independent, non-partisan policy research institute established to promote innovative thinking and debate about national security strategy and investment options. CSBA’s goal is to enable policymakers to make informed decisions in matters of strategy, security policy and resource allocation.

The CSBA released a report entitled "Cost of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other Military Operations Through 2008 and Beyond." In this report, CSBA offers a comprehensive picture of the direct budgetary costs of US military operations conducted since 2001. The report also discusses the means used to budget for and finance these operations, and includes projections of how much more these operations might cost over the coming decade.

In their report "Impact of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on the US Military’s Plans, Programs, and Budgets," the CSBA assesses the effect that the operations in these two theaters have had on the plans, programs, and budgets of the US military, specifically those of the US Army. It makes projections for the future costs of the operations in these two theaters.

To see these reports, click on the following links or go to CSBA's publications page: http://www.csbaonline.org/2006-1/3.Publications/Publications_List.shtml?

Cost of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other Military Operations Through 2008 and Beyond
Impact of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on the US Military’s Plans, Programs, and Budgets

The House Armed Services Committee - Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations has posted its report "Joint Improvised Explosive Device Organization: DOD's Fight Against IEDs Today and Tomorrow."

Available on the Internet:
http://armedservices.house.gov/pdfs/Reports/JIEDDOReport111908.pdf

**Press Release from Sub-Committee, November 19, 2008**

“We have to keep asking how we’re doing in this fight against IEDs,” Subcommittee Chairman Vic Snyder (D-AR) said. “We’ve made a huge investment in countering and defeating IEDs, but we still can’t say that the effort has been successful. We owe it to the men and women facing this threat everyday to provide them the best tools and training to keep them safe and defeat IEDs.”

"The Joint IED Defeat Organization has played an important role in helping our troops fight back against insurgents using IED's to terrorize civilians and military alike in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Subcommittee Ranking Member Todd Akin (R-MO). “JIEDDO was created as an agile and temporary organization to fight an emerging threat. The question now before us is where JIEDDO as an organization should go next. This report will hopefully help move that conversation forward thoughtfully."

Press Release: http://www.house.gov/list/press/armedsvc_dem/SnyderAkinPR111908.shtml

Post on GovDoc-L from: Greta E. Marlatt, Information Services Manager & Homeland Security Digital Library Content Manager, Dudley Knox Library, Naval Postgraduate School

The General Accountability Office (GAO) has launched a new transition website intended to help make the transition an informed and smooth one.

The website can be found at http://www.gao.gov/transition_2009/

The 13 urgent issues they identified are as follows and are in alphabetic order not priority order:

* Caring for Service Members
* Defense Readiness
* Defense Spending
* Food Safety
* Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan
* Oversight of Financial Institutions and Markets
* Preparing for Large-Scale Health Emergencies
* Protecting the Homeland
* Public Diplomacy and International Broadcasting
* Retirement of the Space Shuttle
* Surface Transportation
* The 2010 Census
* Transition to Digital TV

The website also includes sections on:
* Agency-by-Agency Issues
* Major Cost-Saving Opportunities
* Management Challenges Across the Government
* Long-Term Fiscal Outlook
* Examples of Upcoming GAO reports on Major National Issues


Post on GovDoc-L from: Greta E. Marlatt, Information Services Manager & Homeland Security Digital Library Content Manager, Dudley Knox Library, Naval Postgraduate School

In Contact!: Case Studies from the Long War. William G. Robertson, General Editor. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2006.
SUDOC: A 13.36/2-6:R 8-RG-238/2008

This new periodical from the historians at the Combat Studies Institute (CSI) provides case studies of both lethal and nonlethal missions performed by Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. The events chronicled span the spectrum of participants from officers to noncommissioned officers and from combat units to support personnel. The information comes from unclassified material and interviews with many of the key participants in each of the events.

Available on the Internet: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS88531