Spying Costs Reach $50 Billion

The WaPo reports on the size of the U.S. spying budget. The director of national intelligence will disclose today that national intelligence activit
By Steve Benen — October 30, 2007

The WaPo reports on the size of the U.S. spying budget.

The director of national intelligence will disclose today that national intelligence activities amounting to roughly 80 percent of all U.S. intelligence spending for the year cost more than $40 billion, according to sources on Capitol Hill and inside the administration.

The disclosure means that when military spending is added, aggregate U.S. intelligence spending for fiscal 2007 exceeded $50 billion, according to these sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the total remains classified.

Cernig helps put the number in perspective:

It's more than every other nation except three (China, Russia and the UK) spend on their entire defense budgets. It's ten times Iran's entire defense budget. It's as much as the US government spent on all its science, energy and environmental programs in 2006.

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