Gates projects Pentagon needs $70 bln more for wars

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates estimates the Pentagon will need about $70 billion more to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year, on top of the $65.9 billion already approved by Congress. If Congress supports the amount Gates estimates is needed, total spending on the wars will hit $927.7 billion since 2001. In a three-page letter dated Dec. 31, Gates told House of Representatives Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Murtha that the military needed $69.7 billion in extra funds in fiscal 2009 to fund operations, replace equipment lost or worn out in the wars and replenish supplies. That would bring the total war spending for fiscal 2009, which began on Oct. 1, to about $136 billion, the lowest in two years. U.S. war appropriations rose from $107.6 billion in fiscal 2005 to $121.5 billion in 2006, $171 billion in 2007 and $187.7 billion in 2008, according to the Congressional Research Service. Gates said his estimate did not include an expected massive reinforcement in Afghanistan, which could nearly double the number of U.S. troops from 32,000 to around 60,000. The troop expansion was not included because the proposal was still under consideration, Gates said, pledging to provide updated numbers to Congress once the plan was approved. Gates, who has agreed to stay in his job after Barack Obama becomes president on Jan. 20, stressed that the dollar figure was his personal assessment and did not reflect the position of the Bush administration or Obama's incoming government. "I fully expect that the new administration will conduct a fresh review of these matters and provide an updated and more authoritative proposal early next year," Gates said. He said he would work closely with the new team to provide Congress with updated figures as soon as possible. The letter included two pages of charts detailing how the extra money would be spent, including $600 million for four additional radar-evading F-22 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp. The request for additional F-22 funding could be controversial among lawmakers since the new fighter jets have never been used in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan and the Pentagon has previously said it would cap purchases of the expensive planes at 183. But Air Force officials have argued in the past that it makes sense to buy new F-22s to replace the older F-16s and F-15s it has been using in Iraq and Afghanistan, since they have next-generation technologies. The bulk of the spending request -- $53.5 billion -- would fund ongoing operations, pay for measures to defeat roadside bombs, improve the capacity of Pakistani security forces and build infrastructure throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. About $7.5 billion would be used to pay for modifications to AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and CH-47 twin-rotor helicopters built by Boeing Company, to buy more Humvee vehicles and to better protect soldiers against nuclear, biological and chemical attacks. Another $1.3 billion would be used to buy vehicles, ammunition, aircraft and parts to help expand the Afghan National Army, according to the Gates letter.