April 17, 2007
When the money runs out (Update)
On 2 April, 2007 I warned that if Congress did not pass funding by the 15th of April that the Army would have to start cutting back operations.
"If the money dries up in less then two weeks the violence will rise. Our troops will start to lose the intelligence that the population is giving them to target. The attacks will increase on our forces as well as the Iraqi forces, and the members of congress and media that oppose the war will take the opportunity to crow about how the surge is a failure. Don't expect them ever tie it to the true friction, which will be the lack of money."
"These actions carry consequential effects, including substantial disruption to installation functions, decreasing efficiency and potentially further degrading the readiness of non-deployed units," the Army said. [....]
Immediately, the Army will tell commanders to slow spending in certain areas so that war-related activities and support to families can continue, it said.In May, absent new funds, the Army said it would freeze new civilian hiring from outside the Army, lay off temporary employees, and suspend some service contracts for training and facilities, among other things.