Bush May Ask Congress for Extra Iraq Funding Earlier Than Expected

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAXEF0UVJD.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration may ask Congress next month for a few billion more dollars for Iraq reconstruction, officials said Wednesday, only a few weeks after the Pentagon said extra money would not be needed at least until the new budget year begins in October.

The possible early infusion of fresh cash is an indication of the urgency felt by L. Paul Bremer, the civilian administrator of Iraq, and others in the administration to make faster progress in Iraq.

The administration has been saying for weeks that it expects to request billions in emergency funding for Iraq during the 2004 budget year, but until now it had insisted enough money was available through September to pay for civic projects like repairing utilities and schools.

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[qanda]

1. A few billion here, a few billion there--

Who really cares?

[NNN0LHI]

2. What the difference to Bush. As Bush likes to say "Its your money" n/t

[karlschneider]

4. I guess it's time for another tax cut.

There is no emoticon for what I am thinking right now. And even if there were, Asscrack would have me in Gitmo for using it.

[UpInArms]

3. what was it * said?

forty billion here and forty billion there - after a while you're talking about "real" money. -

sheesh!!!

when do they ever get it (the sheeple I mean)

seems like the cost has been misunderestimated yet again.

[htuttle]

5. What can they POSSIBLY be spending it on?

There is so much money being spent, if all they were doing with it was burning 100 dollar bills in a fire, they could hardly get rid of it this fast!

If they are spending about $1 billion a week on military spending in Iraq alone (give or take a few score million, but not counting 'reconstruction', which for some reason Bush expects others to pay for...), that divides out to $142,857,142.00 per day, or $5,952,381.00 an HOUR.

That's also $99,206.00 a minute, or $1653.43 per second. That would be roughly 16 one hundred dollar bills per second, every second. Day in, day out.

To completely oxidize 16 one hundred dollar bills in one second, you'd need a pretty damn hot fire.

And, indeed, Bush appears to have one.

[spinbaby]

6. Cutting pay raises to help pay for it

ABC reported on their evening news that federal employees are getting only half of their next 2.7% pay raise so that * can have more money for Iraq.

I wonder how much it would have cost to simply bribe Saddam to take his family and move to Syria.

[lindashaw]

7. If they want to sell market futures on something...

how about speculating on how many emergency fund requests there will be. A person could make some real money there.

[legin]

8. In case people havn't seen this

It's the Hamre report on Iraq that keeps getting mentioned at meetings on Capitol Hill, it probably been posted before but it won't do any harm again.

Very easy reading and only 15 pages

Go here and click link, Adobe required

http://www.cfr.org/publication.php?id=6132

[legin]

9. It's a

'What the u.s. should be doing' report. The money issue crops up.

[cliss]

10. Extra Funding

Looks like the cat is finally out of the bag. The "cabal" in Washington has painted itself into a corner. They have held off on divulging the true cost of this war. However, the stalling has given way to urgency: they need to fix Iraq, and they need to fix it NOW.

The important thing to remember about these guys is, they are not professionals, not diplomats, obviously not planners in any sense of the word.

They are certainly not businessmen, even though they all previously held positions in a variety of industries. Businessmen are prudent. They try to minimize their risk. These men are more like riverboat gamblers, or 18th century pirates, with their ship hidden on the other side of the bay, waiting for a merchant ship to come out of the harbor.

Definitely NOT the kind of man you would want to take home to meet your parents.

[MetaTrope]

11. The only urgency is how fast can they pump it into Halliburton's pocket

:nopity:

[newyawker99]

12. Hi cliss!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Robbien]

13. Is there any possibility the Congress would say no to this request?

Or put up roadblocks?

[gratuitous]

14. Will the Republicans who control Congress just write another blank check?

Or will they require some accounting? And some accountability? Or is it still unpatriotic to ask where the hell all these billions are going, and what it's being spent on?

I mean, it's a good thing that President Stupidhead is such an honest, Christian man, otherwise, I'd strongly suspect that the open-ended, no-bid contracts his administration has let to the likes of Halliburton and Bechtel are nothing more than schemes to transfer the wealth of the nation into the pockets of his supporters.

As I recall, Dante had a special circle in Hell reserved for corrupt leaders.

[0007]

15. "We're not in to nation building"

What a premeditated lie that was, 'eh? And we fell for it hook line and sinker.

Nothing but silence do I hear, where's the outrage?

How many congressmen & senators are in on this scam? I hate to think it, but this country is rotten to the core.

[grasswire]

16. Trent Lott....

...said on Hardball Wednesday that there weren't limitless funds for this. O.....kay.

[raifield]

17. Foreign Contractors might be "exxagreting"

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

Blog from an Iraqi woman. She says and I know it's biased, but that an Iraqi construction company put the costs of one bridge repair at
$300,000 and a foreign contractor put it at $50 million.

Food for thought. Tammny Hall anyone?

[Gin]

18. Surprise...Surprise...I think all the talk about the cost and increases

are more spin to get what they want. The utility companies would do that for a rate increse. As sky high..then...get lower amounts but that's what they wanted anyway.

It has worked...now * is asking sooner and for more. We are all played like violins.

I want to know where my money is going.