Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


How much will the war on terrorism cost? If past experience is any indication, there are bound to be a few hidden expenses. As it takes on the axis of evil, the Pentagon is running up what it refers to as “incremental costs” — expenses over and above the cost of training and deploying troops overseas. But when the General Accounting Office took a look at $2.2 billion the Defense Department spent enforcing no-fly zones in Iraq and keeping peace in the Balkans in 2000 and 2001, it found at least $101 million in what it calls “questionable expenditures.” Here are a few of the iffier expenses racked up at air bases in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Cappuccino machine $16,758 Golf-club set with bag $1,478
Corporate golf membership $16,000 White beach sand $4,638
Genie lamp with Riyadh stone $432 “The Intelligent Investor” software $2,987
Cowboy hats $4,896 Deocrative river rock $18,980
Nacho cheese warmer $1,039 Love seat and armchair $23,989
Remote-control cars $3,766 Sumo wrestling suit $3,395

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And the essential ingredient that makes all this possible? Readers like you.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate