CRS: Department of Defense Fuel Costs in Iraq, July 23, 2008
Wikileaks release: February 2, 2009
Publisher: United States Congressional Research Service
Title: Department of Defense Fuel Costs in Iraq
CRS report number: RS22923
Author(s): Anthony Andrews, Resources, Science, and Industry Division; Moshe Schwartz, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Date: July 23, 2008
- Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the average price of fuels purchased for military operations in Iraq has steadily increased. The disparity between the higher price of fuel supplied to the United States Central Command compared to Iraq's civilian population has been a point of contention. Several factors contribute to the disparity, including the different types of fuel used by the military compared to Iraqi civilians, the Iraqi government's price subsidies, and the level pricing that the DOD's Defense Logistics Agency charges for military customers around the world. The Iraqi government has been pressured to reduce its fuel subsidy and black market fuel prices remain higher than the official subsidized price.