White House May Seek More Funds for Iraq

[bluedog]

White House May Seek More Funds for Iraq

21 minutes ago


By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A top Pentagon (news - web sites) official told lawmakers Wednesday the Iraqi military operation "is going to cost us more money" than anticipated, and the White House left open the possibility it will seek the additional funds before the end of the year.

A rough first estimate showed that the decision to keep 20,000 troops in Iraq (news - web sites) for some 90 days longer to deal with increased violence will cost about $700 million, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee.

snip





"They haven't asked for one single penny for next year for Afghanistan (news - web sites) and Iraq," said Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. "Give me a break. Give me a break!"


Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., said he smelled election-year politics.


"The administration would be well served here to come forward now, be honest about this, because the continuity and the confidence in this policy is going to be required to sustain it," Hagel said. "And that means be honest with the Congress, be honest with the American people.


"Every ground squirrel in this country knows that it's going to be $50 billion to $75 billion in additional money required to sustain us in Iraq for this year."


Both senators spoke on the NBC program "Today."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040421/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_4

[Richardo]

1. Alright, Hagel!

Love when they get paddled by their own. :thumbsup:

[LittleApple81]

2. I cannot believe this country. What has happened to us? That

only these two guys ask this mild questions when the entire congress should be up in arms about the deceit by the administration is beyond me.

[Robbien]

3. Well when even the CPA says 90% of the money is wasted in bribes

Of course they are going to need more of our taxpayor funds.

[cliss]

4. OK, here it comes.....

I was waiting for this to happen. So let's see... this was is costing us $4.2 billion per month. So far, we've spent $160 billion. Now it looks like they're going to ask for another $75 billion by the end of the year.

This is the kind of thing that's politically dangerous. You don't ask for this in an election year. But they probably won't be able to wait until November because the situation is rapidly spinning out of control and they will be needing more money quickly.

And we're getting what for our money?

[Skittles]

13. a lot of dead and injured soldiers

and a lot of dead civilians and the seeds for civil war in Iraq. That's what we are getting.

[0007]

25. We got them terrorist surrounded and we know who they are

Them there goddamm foreigners are in thar, we know it, but we don't know what to do! junior don't know what to do, Sharon don't know to do, the freepers want to nuke 'em. So what do we have?

In Korea during the early 50's the song was, "there's a soldier in grass with with finger up his ass, pull out pull out Uncle Sam put it there" - Ah yes, more money is needed. Then bring the troops home American and admit that junior has made a big mistake and the Supreme Court made a bigger mistake.

...well my dog had a raccoon treed for three days in a cherry tree until dog got hungry. By the way, raccoons love cherries.

[damnraddem]

27. Hey, Dubya, good news: http://www.theonion.com/news/index.php?issue=401.

No need to fund military operations in Iraq -- the Iraqis are doing it for themselves, especially in Fallujah. ;-)

[0007]

28. good link - thanks

[bluedog]

5. whats the reply to this

I believe we should help the troops.but I also believe we just don't have the money.I was watching C-Span last night and our deficit is up to 521 billion so far.where does it end.we have no money left for our countries needs.any solutions?

[Just Me]

18. Well, I thought that since the administration FAILED to account for,...

,...the first $60+ BILLION that any award beyond the second $87 BILLION had to be contingent upon a full accounting. I mean, good gawd, $150 BILLION is a helluva lot of money!!!

[Mari333]

6. and the Bush admin lied again,

telling everyone we would go in, liberate the people, and their oil revenues would pay for the whole thing.
and we all knew better, and no one listened.
yep.
and until a draft starts, the US public seems to sit on their arse and ignore it.

[sniffa]

7. ie: money for re eLection

or some other endeavor that the money is NOT meant for.

[teryang]

8. Social security funds used to lose an elective war

...based on fraud.

[UpInArms]

9. honestly!

there is no honesty in this mal-administration.

No honor, no dignity, no honesty.

Just lies, distortions, corruption.

They profit on the deaths of the American people, from 9/11 to the illegal invasion of Iraq.

They profit on the deaths of thousands of innocent people like vultures feeding on the corpses of roadkill.

They are worse then thieves - their looting of all of our treasure has been planned and premeditated for as long as we can collectively remember.

[Wright Patman]

10. Half the public

still believes Saddam ordered 9-11. They also believe in the Iraqi WMDs much as 3-year-olds still believe in Santa Claus.

This will never hit home with those people. That half of the population is so deluded and so impervious to the truth as to be as good as slaves to the BFEE already.

[LittleApple81]

11. Have you heard anybody in the mainstream media repeat "IT AIN'T SO"?

People need to hear this over and over and that is not going to happen because what they hear is how wonderful Bush is and how good the war is for the Middle East.
And these people watch Bush speak and they see something that does not exist.

[calimary]

14. CALL YOUR REPS! And a media person or two! Here's How:

Please note, here, The World's Greatest Lists of Media Contacts – updated April 14, 2004– in the following thread:

LINK:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1413842#

IF THEY THINK WE DON’T CARE, THEY WON’T, EITHER!

[ewagner]

12. Mr President...we'll give you the money...but

You have to hold a press conference and in it, you must:

1. Tell the American People that Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11.

2. Tell the American People that you had no plan for the aftermath of the war.

3. Tell the American People that Wolferwitz was wrong about Iraqi Oil Revenues

4. Apologize to the American People for misleading them into this war.

5 RESIGN

[peterh]

16. and tell the people I was wrong on the tax cuts….

They want more money for the quagmire….where’s it going to come from….

It’s just more passing the buck on the economy and outright lies on reining in the deficit…



WASHINGTON (AP)--The Bush administration rejected global criticism that America's huge budget and trade deficits represent threats to the world economy.

The real problem, Treasury Secretary John Snow said Tuesday, is a lack of strong economic growth in other countries.

He said he planned to emphasize during the weekend meetings that President Bush was committed to dealing with the U.S. budget deficit, which the administration has promised to halve during the next five years from this year's projected record of $521 billion.


http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/biz/content/business/ap_story.html/Financial/AP.V4793.AP-Money-Summit.html;COXnetJSessionID=AG0lXIapw5GYAUh5VZD1DWyuDjB1rTpzrc4k1PV8ZuQBnia4UHX4!-244071796?urac=n&urvf=10825698290680.24170917177555695

[otohara]

15. $700 Million is Magic Number

divert it from some other budget, take it from Afghanistan again, there's an idea.

[gatlingforme]

21. I agree 700 mil seems to be popping up everywhere

[nolabels]

23. Along with the point when they hit 700 deaths

This is not even mentioning the many others that have been killed to secure oil wells and a beach head for all them corporate whores. Supporting the troops is bringing them home (in one piece).

The US government has been hijacked to make sure the CorpoRATs can keep what they stole. They want to draft people from the age of 17 to 49 years of age. Effing stupid ole white men, too damn lazy to work for a living.

Alex Jones may be kind of nutty on a few things, but he does make some good points

http://www.infowars.com/

Remember the vandals stole the handle

Dylan/Bob%20Dylan%20-%20Subterranean%20Homesick%20Blues%20lyrics.htm

[Bandit]

17. Halliburton needs more money if they are going to kick-back to GOP

before election. GOP gets a lot of it's millions and millions from kick-backs from all the "No-Bid Contracts" and over-billing done by GOP Companies like Halliburton. Bush* has dropped a quarter of his war chest without putting a dent in Kerry so they need more money ASAP. Best way is to get taxpayers to spend in Iraq to Corporations like Halliburton.

[indepat]

19. So 20,000 troops for 90 days equal $700 million, about the amount

of Afghanistan funds purportedly funneled off to make way for the then secret planned war against Iraq. And I wonder what it costs Uncle Sam for the some 20,000 mercenaries, er contractors, for 90 days: my guess $4 billion, or a factor of almost seven (7) times more for the mercenary than our soldier, a disgrace, IMNSHO. Ain't the way the Pentagon spends our tax dollars both wonderful and efficient?

[indepat]

20. Should have added the good news is there will be absolutely no need

for pricey mercenaries when the draft commences in 2005.

[Voltaire99]

22. Do you have the courage to oppose this, John Kerry?

Or are you going to enable it by clinging to the politics of occupation?

Really, it's easy to bash BushCo, but if we're at all honest we'll admit this is a bipartisan mess created with equal enthusiasm by Republicans and Democrats. We should move on from the partisanship to demanding that Kerry provide a viable answer. I don't mean his UN fantasy. His call to internationalize Iraq is about a year and several thousand dead too late; the time for that, if ever there was, should have been before US provocations led to uprisings. For that matter, the UN was adamantly opposed to invading; there is nothing to suggest Europe now wishes to take over. In fact, Spain's withdrawal is going to be the trend.

Iraq belongs to Iraqis. A perpetual US military presence is untenable. There will be upheavals for some time, and interim governments are unlikely to last. Warned of this likelihood from the start, the war party ignored reason and put its faith in cruise missiles. And now look: every day the misery deepens!

[havocmom]

24. Tell 'em to have those young, white, republican collage kids to sell more

cookies and send the $$ to Rummy and the Wolf.

[damnraddem]

26. Oh, so the Bushistas need more money for Halliburton ...

err, Iraq.

Why don't they hold a bake sale?

[Snellius]

29. Runaway inflation here we come. Again.

I remember the effect that the Vietnam war had on inflation in the 70s when the price of everything from gas to corn flakes seemed to double overnight. Wars are inherently inflationary. You're laying out enormous wealth, not to create more wealth, but essentially to blow it up.