Bush could seek up to $108 billion in war funding

8.10am

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration, faced with a growing insurgency and record fuel costs, plans early next year to seek US$60-75 billion ($86-108 billion) in emergency funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, administration and congressional officials said on Tuesday.

The White House Office of Management and Budget said it was premature to discuss the size of the upcoming supplemental spending request, which would bring total US funding for military operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan to as much as US$280 billion.

Officials acknowledged that rising fuel costs could add billions of dollars to the price tag in Iraq. World oil prices have skyrocketed 70 per cent since the start of the year, in part because of the turmoil in Iraq.

The White House said President George W. Bush, if re-elected on Nov. 2, would submit the funding request to the US Congress in late January or early February, following a full assessment of the Pentagon's needs in the coming months.

White House officials initially said Bush could seek US$60 billion in new funding for military operations, though actual outlays may be closer to US$50 billion. But officials said the final package could grow to closer to US$75 billion, and possibly more, if the anti-American insurgency intensifies and the United States is forced to send additional troops to Iraq.

"It's too early to be discussing amounts, but the figures will sustain current operations overseas," said Pentagon spokeswoman Rose-Ann Lynch.

The Pentagon is considering delaying the departure of some troops in Iraq and speeding the arrival of others already due to deploy to boost force levels for the January elections, officials said.

Democratic critics accused Bush and his top advisers of understating the costs to bolster support for war.

Before the invasion, then-White House budget director Mitch Daniels predicted Iraq would be "an affordable endeavour," and Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz assured Congress: "We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction and relatively soon."

Yet so far, Congress has approved US$120 billion for Iraq and another US$60 billion for Afghanistan, according to White House estimates. On top of that, Congress has set up a US$25 billion contingency fund for the Pentagon.

"This is the incredible price of going it almost alone in Iraq," Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said in Wisconsin. "How much more will the American people have to pay?"

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California blamed the administration's "poor planning," adding, "Incompetence has a cost."

Administration and congressional aides said the increase in funding comes in response in large part to the spreading insurgency in Iraq, where some doubt the security situation will allow voting across the country.

Under financial strain, the Pentagon said last month that it was already tapping into its US$25 billion "contingency reserve" fund.

The Pentagon said US$2.2 billion of the US$25 billion fund was being used to ramp up production of armoured Humvees and to buy body armour and bolster fuel supplies.

Another US$5.2 billion from the reserve fund has been earmarked for the Army to cover its "cash flow" needs over the next three to four months.

So far, US$966.3 million has been set aside for fuel costs, the Pentagon said. Rising fuel costs could add another US$3 billion to next year's bill, sources said.

Officials said the size of next year's supplemental would depend on the Pentagon's needs, and how much of the US$25 billion contingency fund can be applied to next year's spending needs. Congressional aides doubted much of that money would be left.

Administration officials said Bush would provide whatever money the Pentagon needs. "Like the US$87 billion supplemental request for 2004, our 2005 request will be absolutely critical to supporting our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq," White House budget spokesman Chad Kolton said.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq