The Defense Department has ordered an additional aircraft carrier strike group, air defenses, fighter jets and hundreds of troops to the Middle East.
- The goal is to prevent the conflict from spiraling into a regional war.
The problem: Congressional dysfunction means the Pentagon has no money to pay for the buildup.
- The military, like the rest of the federal government, is operating under a temporary funding measure that freezes spending at the previous year’s levels.
- And because the Middle East troop movements weren’t planned, the Pentagon has had to pull money from existing operations and maintenance accounts.