White House asks Congress for $196.4 billion in war funding for 2008

Washington DC: US President George W Bush demanded nearly $200 billion from the US Congress on Monday to fund war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008. The request swells the administration''s original estimate of war costs for 2008 by $42 billion, to $196.4 billion.

"Every member of Congress who wants to see both success in Iraq and our troops begin to come home should strongly support this bill," Bush said at the White House.

"I know some in Congress are against the war and are seeking ways to demonstrate that opposition," he said. "But they ought to make sure our troops have what it takes to succeed."

If approved, the request would take total US war costs to a staggering $757.4 billion ever since the launch of Bush''s "war on terror" following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Meanwhile, a Washington Post-ABC News poll said that 43 per cent of Americans want the budget for Iraq and Afghanistan reduced sharply, while another 23 per cent said they wanted the funding lowered somewhat.

According to senior defence officials, on an average the Pentagon was spending $10.7 billion a month on the war on terrorism overall, with $9.2 billion a month of this amount on Iraq alone.

Pentagon officials said the additional funding included $5.3 billion for mine-resistant armored vehicles known as MRAPs, and $14.2 billion for "force protection" and efforts to counter improvised explosive devices, which have proved to be the biggest killer of US troops in Iraq.

A billion dollars has also been allocated for military intelligence, and will be used to buy 24 additional unmanned Predator aircraft and for a variety of intelligence-gathering teams.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are funded separately from the Pentagon''s base defense budget. The administration''s 2008 budget request for 481.4 billion dollars is still pending.