So you think you’re being ripped off by Big Oil? Spare a thought for the poor old American military in Iraq that is burning fuel at a staggering rate.
Military units pay an average of $3.23 a gallon for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, some $88 a day per service member in Iraq, according to a survey carried out by the Associated Press. In comparison, Baghdad subsidies gas, so Iraqis pay only about $1.36 a gallon.
Overall, the military consumes about 1.2 million barrels, or more than 50 million gallons of fuel, each month in Iraq at an average $127.68 a barrel. That works out to about $153 million a month.
Critics in Congress are said to be fuming. They argue that the US is getting suckered as the cost of the war exceeds half a trillion dollars: $10.3 billion a month, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Historically, these figures are astounding. In World War II, the average fuel consumption per soldier or Marine was about 1.67 gallons a day; in Iraq, it’s 27.3 gallons. The Defense Department is the nation’s single largest user of energy, at 1.6 million gallons a day in Iraq.
And if you are worried about the mpg on your own car, spare a thought for the military. The new Mine-Resistant Armored Protective vehicles get less than six miles per gallon. Heavily armoured Humvees get four mpg….
The report failed to count fuel consumption for reconstruction and mercenary transportation.
The Report failed to count fuel consumption for Coalition activities and their corporatate operations.