Pentagon Spending Extra Fuel Money on Training of Syrian Opposition, Afghan War

Since 2015, some $60 million from the Pentagon fuel funds were spent on training of Syrian armed opposition and some $1.4 billion – on "unanticipated expenses" in Afghanistan, according to media reports.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Pentagon has been spending extra money from the agency’s fuel budget to train the Syrian armed opposition and cover the Afghan war expenses, the Washington Post newspaper reported, citing military accounting records.

According to the media, the agency has generated some $6 billion since 2010, charging the country’s armed forces excessive prices for fuel. Since 2015, some $60 million from these funds were spent on training of Syrian armed opposition and some $1.4 billion – on "unanticipated expenses" in Afghanistan.

Another $450 million were spent on the drug-prescription program for the military personnel, reportedly heavily exploited by insurance scammers, the media added.

The US Department of Defense is the world’s largest single fuel consumer, the media stressed, noting that the agency buys some 100 million barrels of refined petroleum per year. The DoD then resells the fuel to its military departments – US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and others – at a fixed price, which is considerably higher than the prices on the open market.

In March 2017, US President Donald Trump requested $639 billion for the DoD for the fiscal year 2018, which is $52 billion more than in 2017.