Posted on 02/14/2005 10:16:27 AM PST by CitizenHelper
WASHINGTON - President Bush was poised to officially ask Congress Monday for an estimated $82 billion to cover the costs of continuing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and a myriad of other internationally related expenses, including training Iraqi security forces and aiding victims of the tsunami.
The White House was to send the supplemental budget request to Capitol Hill late Monday, White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters.
Included in the request is $74.9 billion for the Defense Department, including $5 billion for transforming Army divisions and brigades and $5.7 billion for training and equipping Iraqi military and police, according to a federal official familiar with the supplemental.
The remaining money in the supplemental request includes $950 million to help areas affected by the recent tsunami in the Indian Ocean; $350 million to aid the Palestinians; $400 million to reward nations that have taken political and economic risks to join U.S.-led coalitions in Iraq and Afghanistan; money to help build a U.S. embassy in Baghdad; reconstruction funds for Afghanistan; and money for the Darfur region of western Sudan where a 2-year-old civil conflict has left tens of thousands off people killed and more than 2 million displaced.
In a written statement on this issue earlier, President Bush had said the special appropriation would support U.S. troops and help the United States "stand with the Iraqi people and against the terrorists trying desperately to block democracy and the advance of human rights."
The Army wants to use the $5 billion to convert 33 brigades and regiments — about 30 of which are organized into 10 divisions — into a force of 43 to 48 brigades that would operate more independently.
(Excerpt) Read more at story.news.yahoo.com ...
This is actually an old story, having been leaked to and reported by the press weeks ago.
imo
All the griping on this thread about government spending and being ashamed to be an American is misplaced on this thread. If it were a thread about worthless domestic spending, I'd be here in agreement with you.
Oh........and sorry about my 'noble rantings'. I actually love this country.
Sorry if that bothers you.
I believe that Iraq and Afghanistan is just preparatory for the real war coming in 5-10 years. (chicoms) And, I too, believe it is money well spent.
I wasn't mentioning you particularly. Anyone who espouses your beliefs will fall into that category and not just you. There are lots of people in your ranks.
We are spending billions of dollars on Iraq and Afghanistan. Not just military, which at least Iraq should be able to pay us off but they are not, but we are spending money to build up their countries. Isn't that putting them on welfare?
Putting them on welfare puts very little pressure on them to actually stop terrorism. Trust me, if Iraq had to go to the international community to raise money for its reconstructions then the interim govt would have done a lot more to stop insurgency. Right now, they don't care because they know they will have foolish US taxpayers to bail them out. If they had to pay 50% interest on their debt, Zarqawi would have evaporated instantly.
Then why not put into the regular budget and cut some worthless pork to offset the additional spending?
Bush is pissing away our money far faster than he can steal it from us - hence the massive, record deficits.
The insurgency is well-funded, supplied, and manned by Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. The Iraqi interim govt had no power, no military, and wouldn't have had a prayer. Not to mention that they weren't going to get anything from the international community.
Not if they had to pay off German, French, Russian debt. If they went to the banks in those countries asking for money, they would have a completely different objective function to maximize. We have relaxed their constraints by putting them on the US dole.
Do a real study on where your taxes go and you'll see that what Bush does is peanuts and also more worthy of our taxes than most of what gets wasted. He not only has a war to fight, but he also made campaign promises that he is trying to keep. Others make promises, promptly forget them, then throw tax money away on other stuff that benefits nobody.
I absolutely disagree with this request of President Bush's, and I'm greatly disturbed by our deficit.
I want to trust the President, and cannot for the life of me understand how he justifies all this spending. Certainly, he must have "plans" for leveling out the deficit, i.e. cutting the National Endowment for the Arts program.
And, it doesn't help for me to defend the President to those who dislike/hate him.
That includes both Iraq and Afghanistan. This is money and blood well spent.
And it also includes Syria, Iran, North Korea, China, and Saudi Arabia to name a few. Are you advocating an invasion of all those countries no matter the cost?
"...if Iraq had to go to the international community to raise money for its reconstructions ....."
Teach me here, econ-grad: When will Iraq be able to handle its own wealth? Where is all the Iraqi money that Saddam had? When will Iraq be able to make money off its oil?
Yep.. Best we get rid of the problem now rather than sit on our butts and do nothing..
ah yes...now there is a 'note worthy goal'...
and a 'goat worthy knoll'....
imo
It is not 'welfare' to help stabilize these countries we have freed from brutal totalitarianism. It is the same thing we did in Germany and Japan after WW II (only much more quickly), and absolutely necessary for our own security.
It sounds to me like you may be economically educated, but a bit naive and uninformed about history, and the reality of terrorism. Just guessing from what you've written here.....
I don't disagree that there is too much spending........not at all. But the deficits are due to the Clinton recession, the attacks of 9/11 and the War on Terror.
If deficits were caused by runaway spending, they would have been there during the debauched one's presidency.
The spending for Iraq and Afghanistan and our military is critical to our safety.
(I can't help but note that your arguments echo those of the leftists).
No offense, but your mentioning the NEA in the same breath with the deficit gave me the best laugh I've had today. NEA spending is truly peanuts.
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