The combined budget for US civilian and military intelligence operations has shrunk by more than 15 percent since 2010, official figures show. The total US intelligence budget was $67.9 billion in the fiscal year to September 30, according to official figures. That was up only marginally from $67.6 billion the previous year, but followed a steady decline since a peak in 2010. A variety of factors comes into play, official sources say.
The decline reflected the end of military operations in Iraq in 2011 and the drawdown in Afghanistan, said Bruce Riedel, a former senior intelligence official and security adviser to President Barack Obama. "Those operations were extremely expensive, not just for the military but also all the civilian agencies. Now that military operations have resumed in Iraq and spread to Syria the costs for intelligence will go back up again," he said.
James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, has warned that the United States is being exposed to increased risk. "For the past year or so, the IC has been working through what I've referred to as the 'Perfect Storm' of factors that cut into our capabilities," Clapper said in a speech in July.
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