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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Obama's war bill 'to be $83bn' | Obama's war bill 'to be $83bn' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| US President Barack Obama is seeking $83.4bn (£56.7bn) for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan this year, sources in Congress say. | US President Barack Obama is seeking $83.4bn (£56.7bn) for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan this year, sources in Congress say. |
| He is due to send an official request to Congress shortly, the White House said, without giving details. | He is due to send an official request to Congress shortly, the White House said, without giving details. |
| The money is needed to pay for Mr Obama's new Afghan strategy and the "drawdown" of combat troops in Iraq. | The money is needed to pay for Mr Obama's new Afghan strategy and the "drawdown" of combat troops in Iraq. |
| Congressional sources said the sum included special troop funding, a measure Mr Obama previously opposed. | Congressional sources said the sum included special troop funding, a measure Mr Obama previously opposed. |
| It breaks down into $75.8bn for the Pentagon and more than $7bn in foreign aid, including $1.8bn for Pakistan, the Associated Press news agency reports. | |
| If the sum is confirmed, it will bring the cost of the two wars to almost $1tn since 9/11, the Congressional Research Service calculates. | |
| 'The last one' | |
| White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the request was a "supplemental", meaning it falls outside the usual budgetary process. | |
| "A supplemental is required in order to fund the new strategy in Afghanistan and fund the process in Iraq that will lead to a draw-down of all of our combat troops," he told reporters. | |
| "We can't wait until the appropriations process is done in September or August... to fund operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in June." | |
| Mr Gibbs added that this would be "the last supplemental for Iraq and Afghanistan". | |
| "The honest budgeting and appropriations process that the president has talked about falls somewhat victim to the fact that this is the way that wars have been funded previously," he said. |