What is the annual cost to US tax payers to defend our oil supply?

What is the annual cost to US tax payers to defend our oil supply?

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The United States defends its oil supply around the globe and there's no question we use the military to do it and we use tax dollars to support that military. There are widely varying estimates because we have our military in parts of the world for multiple reasons, so sometimes it is hard to parse out how much of that is to protect oil. In some cases it's very easy. In Columbia, we spend $100 million dollars a year on military support, our own military and the Columbian military, to protect one pipe line alone. There is absolutely no question that is what the military is there doing. In other cases, things like the $100 billion we are spend every year on the war in Iraq since we invaded in the year 2003, that is at least in part attributable to defending our oil supply. So, it is very hard to say exactly what the total is but it is definitely in the tens of billions of dollars every year.