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Report: Bush to request $80-billion more for wars

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration plans to announce today that it will request about $80-billion more for this year's costs of fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Associated Press reported, quoting unnamed congressional aides as saying Monday.

The request would push the total provided for those wars and for U.S. efforts against terrorism elsewhere in the world to more than $280-billion since the first money was provided shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.

That would be nearly half the $613-billion the United States spent for World War I or the $623-billion it expended for the Vietnam War, when the costs of those conflicts are translated into 2005 dollars.

White House officials refused to comment on the war spending package.

The war spending has exceeded initial White House estimates. Early on, then-presidential economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey placed Iraq costs at $100-billion to $200-billion, only to see his comments derided by administration colleagues.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Monday that it was Congress' "highest responsibility" to provide the money that American troops need. But in a written statement, she said Democrats would ask questions about Bush's policies there.

The package will not formally be sent to Congress until after President Bush introduces his 2006 budget on Feb. 7, the AP reported, quoting the aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity. They said administration officials would describe the spending request publicly today.

Until now, the White House had not been expected to reveal details of the war package until after the budget's release.

Adding additional pressure, the Congressional Budget Office planned to release a semiannual report on the budget today that was expected to include a projection of war costs.

Planning to stay?

WASHINGTON - The Army's current plan is to keep about 120,000 soldiers in Iraq through 2007, roughly the same number that are there now, a senior operations officer said.

Lt. Gen. James Lovelace, the director of Army operations, said the projection is for the Army staff's planning purposes only. Actual troop levels follow the recommendations of combat commanders and are subject to approval by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. But he said the plan represents the "most probable" level under current assumptions.

[Last modified January 25, 2005, 01:21:08]