Bush Wants $245 Billion For War Effort
Posted: 1:36 pm CST February 2, 2007Updated: 2:01 pm CST February 2, 2007
WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush will ask for another $100 billion for military and diplomatic operations in Iran and Afghanistan this year, a senior official said.
The administration will seek another $145 billion for fiscal year 2008. The requests will accompany the president's budget, due to be unveiled Monday.News of the budget proposal comes the same that a new national intelligence report concludes that the violence and political extremism in Iraq is growing.Sixteen U.S. spy agencies contributed to the National Intelligence Estimate. These top analysts found that the term "civil war" doesn't capture the complex situation in Iraq, which includes attacks on U.S. and coalition forces and struggles even within Iraqi sects, such as Shiite Muslims.Yet, the estimate said, the term "civil war" accurately reflects key elements of the problems in Iraq. That includes the hardening of sectarian identities, "a sea change in the character of the violence," and the displacement of entire populations."Iraqi society’s growing polarization, the persistent weakness of the security forces and the state in general, and all sides' ready recourse to violence are collectively driving an increase in communal and insurgent violence and political extremism," the report said.Meanwhile, the Senate begins debate next week on a variety of resolutions and bills challenging the the president's Iraq policy.
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