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View Full Version : Obama seeks $83.4 billion in special war money




Bryan
04-09-2009, 11:21 PM
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama asked Congress on Thursday for $83.4 billion for U.S. military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, pressing for special troop funding that he opposed two years ago when he was senator and George W. Bush was president.

Obama's request, including money to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan, would push the costs of the two wars to almost $1 trillion since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to the Congressional Research Service. The additional money would cover operations into the fall.

Obama is also requesting $350 million in new Pentagon funding to deal with Mexican drug cartels and conduct other security activities along the U.S.-Mexico border, along with another $400 million to help Pakistan in counterinsurgency efforts along the border with Afghanistan.

Continued:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090410/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_war_costs

JoshLowry
04-09-2009, 11:24 PM
*shakes head*

rpfan2008
04-09-2009, 11:29 PM
That's just the price of the drums for the marching band :rolleyes:

Cowlesy
04-09-2009, 11:45 PM
Do you remember, maybe 2-3 years ago, when a $1-$5 billion project would be all over the news?

Today, no one is even impressed by anything less than a trillion. $83 billion? You don't even need to ask, drop in the bucket!

JoshLowry
04-09-2009, 11:48 PM
Do you remember, maybe 2-3 years ago, when a $1-$5 billion project would be all over the news?

Today, no one is even impressed by anything less than a trillion. $83 billion? You don't even need to ask, drop in the bucket!

I'm going to need to go on anti-depressants after reading that post because it's so true.

Crooks. :mad: America is being looted.

idiom
04-10-2009, 01:02 AM
So much for no 'off the balance sheet' war funding.

HOLLYWOOD
04-10-2009, 01:56 AM
ThesePropagandists really know how to muddy the waters... it's difficult to keep track of all the money going overseas now. So this is in addition to the $200+ Billion in FEB 2009?

Let's see we're now policing Mexico at more than a Billion a year... the ORACLE is uping ANOTHER $700 MILLION

Obama up'd Pakistan's aid to $5 Billion a year

gesus... outta control
February post:

CHANGE! Thar she blows... Obama wants $205.5 BILLION for Iraq & Afghanistan Obama to Seek $75.5 Billion More for Wars: March to Sept 30th, 2009 and then another $130 Billion for FY2010 = $205.5 Billion ($11 Billion/Month for the next 18 months)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...Stg&refer=home (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aN3Z5Oo3eStg&refer=home)

Where's the CHANGE? Uncle Sugar is giving WAR; $75.5 Billion, instead of the $83 Billion Gates requested last week. Well, 9 days ago shaved $7.5 Billion off anyway, but I'm sure the WH will spin it. Then $130 Billion for next year :mad:

ROBBED by the Washington DC PIRATES... AGAIN

This is getting Unbelievable... once again, no difference between the Socialists and Fascists Parties

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama (http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Barack+Obama&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1) will seek $75.5 billion more for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through the end of this fiscal year, according to three people familiar with the request.
It will be submitted along with the fiscal 2010 budget Obama sends to Congress tomorrow. That proposal will request $130 billion for the wars in fiscal 2010 in addition to a total Defense Department (http://www.defenselink.mil/) budget of about $534 billion, the people said.
The amounts for the wars are less than Defense Secretary Robert Gates (http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Robert+Gates&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1) asked for and in keeping with expectations that the president plans a major reduction of the 142,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq.
The extra funding for fiscal 2009, which ends Sept. 30, includes money for adding 17,000 troops to the U.S. force of 38,000 in Afghanistan.
Gates in December said he would need $69.7 billion more this year, not counting the cost of adding troops in Afghanistan. On Feb. 3, he told the White House he would need as much as $83 billion. Obama announced the troop increase two weeks later.
The $130 billion requested for the conflicts in fiscal 2010 is at the low range of the Pentagon’s request for $130 billion to $140 billion.
Congress already has approved $65.9 billion in emergency wartime spending for fiscal 2009.
Lower War Spending
The latest request would bring the total to about $141.4 billion, the lowest amount for war spending since fiscal 2006 when Congress approved $121.5 billion. Congress approved $171 billion for fiscal 2007 and $187 billion for fiscal 2008. That was the highest level since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Navy Commander Darryn James, a Pentagon spokesman, said “it would be inappropriate to comment” on the budget prior to its release.
The $534 billion Pentagon annual budget represents a 4 percent increase over the $513.3 billion approved this fiscal year, or a 2 percent inflation-adjusted increase, said an analyst.
“The outgoing Bush Administration defense plan projected essentially flat defense budgets for the next few years, apart from war-related costs,” said Stephen Daggett (http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Stephen+Daggett&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1), a defense budget analyst for the non-partisan Congressional Research Service.
“The Obama administration’s plan for fiscal 2010 on its face doesn’t seem to change that, at least for the next year,” he said. “The total amount is bit higher, but that could reflect paying for some ongoing war costs in the base budget rather than putting them into the separate request for war funding,” he said.
“There are also always changes in overall inflation or in fuel costs which affect whether there is a real increase or decrease in purchasing power,” Daggett said. “So there may be some small net difference, but apparently not anything very substantial.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio (http://search.bloomberg.com/search?q=Tony+Capaccio&site=wnews&client=wnews&proxystylesheet=wnews&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=p&getfields=wnnis&sort=date:D:S:d1) in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net.

RSLudlum
04-10-2009, 04:47 PM
I guess we'll find out who the true 'fiscally conservative' republicans are in the outcome of this request. This will be the ultimate test for all those Repubs. kicking n screaming about the spending and socialism the past couple of months. My guess is most of them will vote for the appropriations without flinching.