Bush seeks big hike in Iraq, Afghan wars budget

daily india
Washington, Feb 6 (ANI): US President George Bush has reportedly sought a record 784 billion dollars for national defence as part of the annual and supplemental budget requests he sent to the US Congress.

In his 2.9 trillion-dollar budget requests for fiscal year 2008, Bush is seeking 481.4 billion dollars for the Department of Defence, which shows a 62 per cent boost in defence spending since he took office in 2001 and a 10 per cent increase over this year's spending.

The Bush administration is seeking 235 billion dollars more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for fiscal year 2008 which begins on Oct. 1. Most of these funds will be spent on Iraq but President Bush warned that even more funds may be needed for this increasingly unpopular war, reported the Dawn.

"As commander in chief, my highest priority is the security of our nation. The budget will support a new strategy in Iraq that demands more from Iraq's elected government, and gives American forces in Iraq the reinforcements they need to complete the mission," the paper quoted Bush as saying in a budget message to the US Congress.

The 784 billion-dollar proposed defence budget is the total of four separate requests covering three fiscal years - a base budget for 2008, supplemental budgets for 2007 and 2008, and a partial supplemental budget for 2009, said the House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, a Democrat from South Carolina.

He added: "That is a huge sum of money for one budget cycle. The President calls for us to rein in spending and then calls for a 784 billion dollar increase in spending."

President Bush is also learnt to have sent to the Congress a request for additional funding to continue his global war on terror, including funds needed to address extraordinary emergency requirements. (ANI)