August 30, 2007	Thursday	Sha'aban 16, 1428

WASHINGTON, Aug 29: US President George W. Bush plans to ask Congress for an extra $50 billion for Iraq following a highly anticipated report on progress in the war-torn country next month, US media reported on Wednesday.

The request would seek to pay for the current troop “surge” strategy and is a sign that Bush anticipates prevailing in a showdown with the Democratic-controlled Congress which has been pushing for troop withdrawal, the Washington Post said.

If approved, the bid would bring US spending on the Iraq war to more than three billion dollars per week.

The formal request is to be delivered after Army General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker testify to Congress the week of Sept 10 about military and political developments in Iraq, particularly since the new strategy took effect.

The request “is being prepared now in the belief that Congress will be unlikely to balk so soon after hearing the two officials argue that there are promising developments in Iraq but that they need more time to solidify the progress they have made,” the newspaper said, citing an unnamed congressional aide.

The White House refused to confirm the reports.

“We have said previously that after Gen Petraeus reports we will be evaluating what adjustments may need to be made to our pending FY08 (fiscal year 2008) supplemental request, which was sent up in February with the rest of the budget,” said national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

“I'm going to decline to speculate on this as Gen Petraeus has not testified nor have any decisions been made at this stage about whether, when, or what specific changes could be made,” he said.

In a speeches to military veterans this week, Bush has touted signs of progress in Iraq and the need for a sustained military offensive like the one announced earlier this year which sent 30,000 extra troops to Iraq, bringing the total number of troops to around 160,000.

“There are unmistakable signs that our strategy is achieving the objectives we set out,” Bush said on Tuesday. “The momentum is now on our side.” The $50 billion would be in addition to the $460 billion in the fiscal 2008 defence budget and $147 billion in a pending supplemental bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“We haven't seen the details, but we'll give it the scrutiny it deserves,” said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.—AFP