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Gates to ask Congress for nearly $190 billion war funding
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates is asking for nearly $190 billion from Congress to help fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an increase from the amount requested earlier this year. The secretary is scheduled to testify on Wednesday before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the "global war on terror" request for the 2008 fiscal year. CNN received his prepared statement. The initial request, in February, was for $141.7 billion, but that "was an estimate based on a straight-line projection of ongoing war costs," and Congress was told it would probably need to be adjusted. The request covers local force training, equipment repairs and force protection, including new technologies for protecting troops against roadside bombs. In July, the Defense Department asked for $5.3 billion more to buy 1,520 "mine resistant ambush protected," vehicles, bringing the request to $147 billion. The extra $42 billion would pay for training, base consolidation, and more vehicles designed to withstand bombings. Gates will ask for $14 billion for force protection, including "$11 billion for 7,000 more MRAP vehicles on top of the 8,000 MRAPs already funded or requested." He'll also request $9 billion to refurbish equipment, and $6 billion "for training and equipment that will accelerate the deployment readiness of Army units." Gates, in his prepared testimony released to the media Wednesday morning, acknowledges that "Iraq and other difficult choices America faces in the war on terror will continue to be a source of friction within the Congress, between the Congress and the president, and in the wider public debate." But, he said, all can agree on "the honor, courage, and great sense of duty we have witnessed in our troops since September 11th. Then give them what they need to fight this war. "Under some of the most trying conditions, they have done far more than what was asked of them, and far more than what was expected. Like all of you, I am both humbled and inspired by my trips to Walter Reed and to the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, like all of you, I always keep our troops -- their safety and their mission -- foremost in my mind every day." Personally, I think our troops are the bad-a$$edest on the planet. I know we ask a lot from them, but I know they can do a lot. I have faith in them. Now if we could just get our government to keep in mind the fundamentals and return the favor. Posted by: gorb 2007-09-26 |
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