October 24, 2002	Thursday	Sha’aban 17,1423

WASHINGTON, Oct 23: US President George Bush signed into law a 355.1 billion dollars defence spending bill on Wednesday, giving the military its largest increase since the Reagan era of the 1980s.

Bush said the 37.5 billion dollar increase would boost spending on armaments, develop new weapon systems and give the military a 4.1 per cent pay raise.

“We’ve asked our military to prepare for conflict in Iraq if it proves necessary,” said Bush, flanked by the commanders of the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force and by key lawmakers at a White House Rose Garden signing ceremony.—AFP