US plans costly upgrades for bases in Iraq

Listed below are four of the bases in Iraq for which the Bush administration has planned upgrades. Money spent through 2005 was granted through emergency spending bills since 2003: Al Asad air base By some accounts the second largest military air center in Iraq and the main supply base for troops in al Anbar Province, which includes the insurgent strongholds of Falluja and Ramadi. It houses about 17,000 troops, including a large contingent of Marines. Spending: Unknown Bush 2006 request: $46.3 million Balad air base The US military's main air transportation and supply hub in Iraq, with two giant runways. Also known as Camp Anaconda, it is the largest support base in the country, with about 22,500 troops and several thousand contractors. Spending: $228.7 million Bush 2006 request: $17.8 million. Camp Taji One of the largest facilities for US ground forces in Iraq, the base also serves as home to about 15,000 Iraqi security forces. It has the largest military shopping center in the country. Spending: $49.6 million Bush 2006 request: None Tallil air base An increasingly important air and transportation hub, with a growing population of coalition troops and contractors. It has become a key stopping point for supply convoys moving north from Kuwait and is close to one of the Iraqi army's main training facilities. Spending: $10.8 million Bush 2006 request: $110.3 million