“A cruise missile strike against Syria could cost the Pentagon hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons,” according to Defense News, which draws parallels to the 2011 strikes against Libya.

“The first few weeks of the Libyan operation cost the US about $600 million. About $340 million of that was directly was to replenish munitions… Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (T-LAMs) cost about $1.4 million each… Support from aerial refueling tankers would also add to the cost. During the first weeks of the Libya operation, US Air Force tankers flew for more than 800 hours, costing $9.3 million.”

The Hill: “With another $52 billion set to come out of Pentagon coffers in fiscal 2014 under sequestration, the Defense Department is in no position, financially, to carry out military action in Syria.”

Crossposted from Wonk Wire.