$80 Billion More Going to Iraq & Afghanistan

[Ant]

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration plans to announce Tuesday that it will seek about $80 billion in new funding for military operations this year in Iraq and Afghanistan, administration and congressional sources said Monday.

White House officials declined to comment on the size of the package or when it would be unveiled, but administration and congressional sources said they expected a White House announcement as early as Tuesday. Until now, the White House had not been expected to reveal details of the war package until after President Bush sends up his fiscal 2006 budget on Feb. 7.

The decision to do so earlier comes after congressional officials argued to the administration that withholding the war costs from Bush’s budget would open the budget to criticism that it was an unrealistic document. Last year, the spending plan omitted war expenditures and got just that critique.

The new supplemental budget request, which would come on top of the $25 billion in emergency spending that had already been approved for the current fiscal year, would push total 2005 funding for military operations and equipment close to a record $105 billion. Since the first money was provided shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the total provided so far for the U.S. efforts against terrorism would reach more than $280 billion.

When it requested the original $25 billion in May, the administration said it would need another $25 billion later for 2005. The $80 billion request is more than triple that amount.
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Of course as a reminder:

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

From: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6862777/

[King Tech Quadafi]

Man, u need to stop.

No fuckin democrat dick rider has any legitimacy to criticize this Iraq war unless he denounces the political charade that brought it about.

[*Jamal*]

Man, u need to stop.

No fuckin democrat dick rider has any legitimacy to criticize this Iraq war unless he denounces the political charade that brought it about.

Why are you complaining? These are tax dollars going into good use. Americans are basically paying for our country to be reconstructed so that once we're done using the resources here, we can go live like kings there.

[Ant]

Man, u need to stop.

No fuckin democrat dick rider has any legitimacy to criticize this Iraq war unless he denounces the political charade that brought it about.

Look for once I'm going to as nicely as possible explain something to you.  One, I'm not a democrat dickrider, but this country only has two political parties and a pragmatic indivudal realizes he should probably choose to support one of them.

Now given your frequent to desire to criticize others, I'll offer you some criticism.  The biggest problem with your point of view, is that your ideology is entirely devoid of pragmatism. You a) take positions that are entirely unrealistic and b) almost always assume your logic is flawless. I don't disagree that 'political charades' exist, thats the nature of politics.  I don't disagree that the U.S. often fucks over other countries, regardless if there is a democratic president or a republican one.  But the thing you should realize is this.  I'm not muslim, and i'm not from a third world country.  I'm a American citizen that cares about the interests of my country first, and am secondarily concerned with what is in the best interests of the rest of the world. 

Given all that, you have to again realize there are only two parties in this country, and so a pragmatic indiividual, who realizes that supporting no one does nothing, believes that it makes sense to choose the democratic party.  Denouncing both parties does absolutely nothing.  America isn't going to switch to a three party system, and it isn't going to eliminate political corruption.  But then again, neither are your average muslim countries, whidh no doubt deal with their own form of political corruption. 

In the end, you are left with a choice, support absolutely nothing, and just bitch and moan all day, or support a party will act in a manner that is more in line with my personal interests.

[*Jamal*]

Cause

I don't disagree that the U.S. often fucks over other countries

Effect

it isn't going to eliminate political corruption.  But then again, neither are your average muslim countries, whidh no doubt deal with their own form of political corruption. 

[madsamoan]

80 billion, huh? Doesn't George, Jr. have an allowance with that much money from his pops?