What's another 50 billion for Iraq?

The Democrats seem to be absolutely toothless with respect to reigning in Bush. He can simply thumb his nose at the Democrats and at the American people. At the same time war supporters have sponsored ghastly ads. They claim that the opposition would have the US withdraw from Iraq for political reasons. As if the US is not in Iraq and staying there for political reasons. It is the pro-war ads that are taking advantage of people's ideals and concern for soldiers to promote political aims just as much as any anti-war moves to force withdrawal are political.
There is the same cynical appeal to people's emotions in Canada when it comes to the Afghan war but nothing so gross and pukish as the US ads.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush is preparing to ask Congress for as much as $50 billion in additional funding for the war in Iraq, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing a White House official.



The request signals increasing White House confidence that it can fend off mounting congressional pressure to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, the Post reported.

The additional funds would come on top of about $460 billion in the fiscal 2008 defense budget and $147 billion in a pending supplemental bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Post said.

The request is expected to be announced next month after the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker report to Congress on the state of the war, the newspaper said.

Asked about the Post report, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said no decision had yet been made about funding requests.

"We have said previously that after Gen. Petraeus reports we will be evaluating what adjustments may need to be made to our pending FY 08 (fiscal 2008) supplemental request," Stanzel said.

"I would decline to speculate on this, as Gen. Petraeus has not testified nor has any decision been made at this stage about whether, when or what specific changes would be made."