US Middle East buildup amid Gaza war racking up unpaid $1.6B bill: Report

WASHINGTON

The Pentagon is estimating that its buildup of American forces in the Middle East is racking up a $1.6 billion bill that it cannot pay for because Congress has not approved a budget, according to a report published Wednesday.

Two anonymous US officials told the online news website Politico that the estimate was sent to members of Congress in response to their inquiries. The total includes costs associated with the deployment of US warships, fighter aircraft and military equipment to the region.

Should the buildup continue for a year, the cost is estimated to balloon to $2.2 billion, the estimate says.

In the wake of the Palestinian group Hamas's Oct. 7 cross-border attack on Israel and Israel's subsequent war on the besieged Gaza Strip, President Joe Biden has ordered multiple deployments of US forces to the region to bolster what he and his officials call deterrence against other parties entering the fray.

The US president has sent multiple aircraft carrier strike groups to the region, as well as additional air defenses, warships and hundreds more troops to supplement the American force posture.

The numbers have grown in response to attacks from Iran-backed groups, including Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have since mid-November been carrying out strikes on what they say are Israel-linked commercial vessels in the Red Sea in a bid to ramp up pressure on Tel Aviv to end the war.

The US and its allies began on Jan. 11 multiple rounds of airstrikes intended to destroy the Houthis’ military infrastructure and deter further attacks. But as recently as Wednesday, they have continued.

The Pentagon cannot pay for the unplanned expenses because Congress has repeatedly punted on approving a full-term spending bill, instead opting for a series of patchwork measures known as continuing resolutions.

“It will be, I think, a hole that we would want to be filled,” one of the officials told Politico. “It is a bill that will be due and we will have to pay for it within a limited amount of resources.”