Pentagon needs $439.3bn

2006-02-06 21:17

Washington - President George W Bush submitted a $439.3bn defence budget request to congress on Monday, seeking a 7% boost in military spending without taking into account the full cost of a protracted war in Iraq.

The White House said the proposed 2007 defence budget request included increased funding for more Predator surveillance drones, special operations forces and investments in smaller nuclear missiles and enhanced missile defences.

It asked for an additional $50bn for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into the 2007 fiscal year, starting on October 01.

But, the budget didn't reflect the full cost of those military operations, which had been funded through supplemental budget requests outside the annual defence budget.

The administration's requests for supplemental war funding were expanded last year to include war-related weapons procurement as well as the costs of operations.

The White House said last week that it would submit a supplemental request for $70bn to cover war costs during the remainder of fiscal 2006.

That brought supplemental defence spending on the war in 2006 to $120bn.

- AFP