By David S. Cloud and Joel Brinkley
The New York Times, 07 February 2006
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 — The costs of stabilizing and rebuilding Iraq will continue to ripple through the Pentagon and State Department budgets in 2007, under the proposal submitted to Congress on Monday.
The Pentagon, while seeking about $70 billion for additional war costs from now until Sept. 30, did not include the full cost of the war in its request for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. But in many ways, like seeking more of the combat vehicles that are heavily armored against improvised bombs and seeking money to attract new recruits and retain those already in uniform, the military's budget reflects continuing costs from the war.
The State Department is asking for continuing development support for Iraq, for a total of $479 million next year. While that is an eightfold increase in the department's development aid, it is relatively little compared with the $20.9 billion that Congress has already approved for reconstruction. Much of that money, which was managed by the Pentagon rather than the State Department, has yet to be spent, or was diverted to security costs.
The State Department explained that the additional money for Iraq would be used to "sustain key Iraqi infrastructure." A senior department official said, "The money is for projects that are already up and running, not brand new programs." But given that many Iraqi reconstruction projects are incomplete or damaged because of sabotage, officials acknowledged that the definition was subjective.
A government audit last month found that millions of dollars in reconstruction aid to Iraq was lost, stolen or misspent.
The development financing for Iraq was the second highest proposed. Only Afghanistan would get more: $610 million. The administration said that money would used to pay salaries, build roads — essentially to pay for all manner of government services.
The money for Iraq and Afghanistan is part of a $33.65 billion State Department budget request, a 12 percent increase over the current year's budget.
With hidden bombs the leading cause of American casualties in Iraq, the Pentagon said it wanted $581 million to buy 3,000 more armored Humvees in the 2007 fiscal year's budget.
There are currently more than 26,000 Humvees in Iraq, of which more than 25,000 have some form of armor. But many of those have armor that was installed after the vehicles left the factory and is considered less effective. Army officials said they could not supply a separate breakdown on the number of factory-armored Humvees.
Over all, the Pentagon budget comes to $439.3 billion, a 7 percent increase over the $410.8 billion enacted by Congress last year. That request does not include the cost of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has been financed in periodic stand-alone appropriations bills.
Tina Jonas, the Pentagon's top budget official, said the Pentagon budget included $1.9 billion in bonuses and incentives intended to retain senior enlisted personnel and warrant officers. Although re-enlistment numbers have been high, Pentagon officials are worried that they could lag, especially among midcareer enlisted personnel, as deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan continue.
The administration is requesting $5.1 billion, around $1 billion more than provided this year, to expand the number of special operations troops by around 4,000. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld considers such forces vital for defeating terror groups and working with foreign militaries. By 2011, the Pentagon wants to increase the number of special operations troops by 14,000.
In foreign aid, the State Department is proposing a 13 percent drop in traditional foreign health, development and recovery aid, from an estimated $1.644 billion this year to $1.433 billion requested next year. Some Eastern European and Central Asian states accounted for part of the drop. They will get sharply reduced aid, or none at all. The way the department put it, these states had "graduated" and did not need aid any longer. Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania would for the first time in recent years get no economic assistance next year.
But department officials noted that additional aid was delivered in many other ways, including democracy-promotion programs and H.I.V. and AIDS initiatives.
Foreign military assistance increased by just over 2 percent, to $4.84 billion, from $4.72 billion. While Romania, as an example, would get no economic aid, the administration proposes spending $1.6 million on military assistance there.
The weapons budget at the Pentagon provides both for the immediate needs of forces in combat and for costly long-term projects that have little bearing on the war.
The request allocates $1.6 billion on 132 unmanned aircraft, which Pentagon officials say are needed to provide better surveillance of suspected terror groups and other unconventional enemies. Last year, the Pentagon spent virtually the same amount and built 125 of this type of aircraft.
Among the bigger ticket items are requests for $3.7 billion for the Army Future Combat Systems, a combination of 18 digitally connected combat vehicles and other equipment. The program is expected to cost $22 billion by 2011.
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Citation: David S. Cloud and Joel Brinkley. "Broad Ripples of Iraq War in Budgets of 2 Agencies," The New York Times, 07 February 2006.
Original URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/politics/07security.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
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