The Bush administration asked for an additional US$42.3 billion for the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the 2008 request for total war funding to
US$189.3 billion.
The request comes on top of US$147 billion already sought for in the wars.
Most of the money goes to Iraq, which is costing the Pentagon an estimated
US$2 billion a week.
"Parts of this war are complicated, but one part is not -- and that is that
America should do what it takes to support our troops and protect our people,"
US President George W. Bush said in an appearance with members of veterans
groups at the White House.
Bush said the money will cover basic operating expenses, plus additional
armored vehicles and countermeasures designed to protect US troops from roadside
bombs.
"Congress should not go home for the holidays while our troops are still
waiting for the funds they need," he said.
The president also called on Congress to finish the appropriations bills that
fund the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs before lawmakers' holiday
recess, set to begin in mid-November.
The request is bound to kick off another debate on Capitol Hill over the
course of the Iraq war.
Bush's last supplemental spending request led to a showdown with the
Democratic leaders of Congress, who pushed for a withdrawal of American combat
troops in 2008 -- a demand dropped after the president vetoed the measure.
Minutes after Bush spoke, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, warned
the president not to expect Congress to "rubber-stamp" the latest request.
"In the coming weeks, we will hold it up to the light of day and fight for
the change of strategy and redeployment of troops that is long overdue," Reid
said.
He said the new request means the overall cost of the widely unpopular war
now approaches 650 billion dollars since the March 2003 invasion.