Bush Seeks Flexibility On New Funds For Iraq

[Eye and Monkey]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N12617700.htm

13 May 2004 00:59:31 GMT

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - The White House spelled out its request on Wednesday for $25 billion more to fund military operations in Iraq and asked Congress for flexibility in how the money is spent.

Breaking a promise not to ask for additional money for Iraq before the November election, President George W. Bush last week asked lawmakers for a $25 billion reserve fund for Iraq and Afghanistan.

The new money would come on top of $160 billion in the president's two previous spending bills for Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a letter to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Bush asked that the money be set aside as an "emergency reserve," to be tapped if necessary.

MORE -

[LittleApple81]

1. He wants a bigger funnel to direct money to his contractors? n/t

[pfitz59]

2. Congress must say "NO"!

Audit the whole slimy lot of them. Gitmo is waiting..... Invade the Cayman Islands and open the bank records! War Profiteering writ large! The fuckers are buying villas in the south of france and laughing at the world!

[lovedems]

3. Didn't he get "flexibility" the last time he asked for money?

They have obviously been mismanaging the money as badly as they have been mismanaging the war.

Congress should not fall for it again. *sigh*

[sundancekid]

4. FLEXIBILITY? to prepare for what?? another war??? with Syria???

Make them accountable -- since they seem to want accountability ONLY by somebody else ... this is OUR blood and OUR treasure, and we demand to know how b*co spends it. Period.

[FloridaPat]

5. It was my understanding they had no idea where the money was

going, but they really needed that $87 billlion to "support the troops". Kennedy even came out a said a lot of it was going to bribes. No one still know where it's going except into Haliburton's pockets.

[UpInArms]

11. that was my first thought also

sundancekid -

like the appropriation of $700 million for Iraq that was to be spent for Afghanistan during the summer of 2002

:mad:

[whistle]

6. Geese, now these people want a blank check....

...$25 Billion for three months, maybe more like $30 Billion or $40 or $50 billion. It's coming out now that this war threatens to be the biggest single drain of any government funded program in the history of this country, or $200Billion in just over 12 months, but those are only what the Pentagon has chosen to release. The Iraq war is listed as $0.00 in the Pentagon budget. This will be a financial black whole.

[Eye and Monkey]

7. "Black hole", yes. Guess what's on the other side of that black hole?

[Hand]

12. Well...

It sure as hell ain't the light at the end of the tunnel...

:mad:

[yardwork]

8. If my reps vote for this I will be furious!

We need to write to our representatives and senators now and tell them to vote NO on this.

The only way to put a stop to this is to cut off the money. Halliburton and all those paramilitary creeps will high-tail it out of Iraq if the money stops flowing their way.

[Eye and Monkey]

9. "The only way to put a stop to this is to cut off the money."

I agree. Ironic, that's the exactly the strategy of the rePubs in ripping apart the US social safety net.

[cliss]

10. George wants to bankrupt us

sooner, rathe than later. At the rate he's going, the public coffers will be empty within....5 years.