Cutting the Deficit in Half? DoD will ask for $80B in new funds

 In its lastest step to balance the budget, the Bush administration is preparing to request an additional $80B in military spending to support the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Exactly how this request assists in balancing the budget is still unclear, but given this administrationâ€Â™s record for meeting its buget projections, it should come as no surprise.

“WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration plans to announce as early as Tuesday that it will seek about $80 billion in new funding for military operations this year in Iraq and Afghanistan, pushing the total for both conflicts to almost $300 billion so far.

Administration and congressional officials said on Monday that the new request would come on top of the $25 billion in emergency spending already approved for this fiscal year.

That means funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan will total nearly $105 billion in fiscal 2005 alone -- a record amount that shatters initial estimates of the cost.

In addition to money for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and for new Army equipment, up to $650 million is expected to be earmarked for U.S. humanitarian aid, reconstruction and military operations in Asian nations devastated by last month's tsunami, congressional aides said.”