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US thrashes out Iraq war funding

Pentagon report to accuse Iran of fueling Iraq strife: media
A Pentagon report to be released Tuesday will accuse Iran of continuing to funnel weapons and technology to fighters in neighboring Iraq even as it cites lower violence overall, US media said. Fewer fatalities among US and Iraqi troops and wider installation of basic services such as electricity are to be among the positives cited by the US military assessment of Iraq, the Wall Street Journal said citing officials familiar with the report to be given to Congress. The report "also will reiterate US accusations that Iran is sending sophisticated explosives, rockets and mortars into Iraq," the newspaper said. "It's not arguing that Iran's behavior is getting worse, but it's also not arguing that Iran's behavior is getting better," the report quoted one US officer as saying. The assessment was also to highlight political instability and the difficulties faced by the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. US commanders have in the past accused Iran of providing covert support to Iraq extremists, but amid a sharp reduction in violence in recent weeks they have said the alleged support appears to have ended. Iran has consistently denied providing Iraqi militias with funding or training.
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Dec 18, 2007
Despite deep differences over the Iraq war, the White House and the US Congress on Tuesday groped towards a year-end budget deal that could put a down-payment on the unpopular conflict's future costs.

The US Senate was expected to vote on a half-trillion catch-all budget bill for 2008, passed late Monday by the House of Representatives, which included 31 billion dollars solely for US-led efforts in Afghanistan but none for Iraq.

US President George W. Bush's Democratic foes hold both chambers, but his Republican allies in the Senate reportedly planned to increase the figure to a total 70 billion dollars for both wars. The White House had threatened to veto the entire bill if it contained no funding for Iraq.

"Obviously, the full funding that we requested since February is what the troops need -- not just what they want, but what they need. But this will help us get through this period," said Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino.

Democrats, who took over the US Congress in November 2006 elections fueled by anger at the war in Iraq, have tried without success to use their power of the purse to impose a timetable for withdrawal from the strife-torn country where nearly 4,000 US troops have died since the March 2003 invasion.

Democrats reportedly also gave up several billion dollars' worth of other budget demands rejected by Bush, in order to see the spending measure passed before the year-end recess.

Touting the bill Monday, the Democratic Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, branded Bush "shortsighted," accusing him of opposing parts of the budget for areas such as education and healthcare.

"The budget bill we passed tonight ends seven years of failed Bush administration economic policies that are out of touch with the concerns of the American people," she said in a statement.

Ahead of Monday's vote, Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer also slammed Bush as "not fiscally responsible" for refusing certain domestic spending demands while also calling for more money to spend on the war.

"This legislation is far from perfect. But it does reject many of the president's misguided budget cuts," Hoyer said in a statement.

During a speech on the economy in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on Monday, Bush warned that he would not shy from using his veto power while saying he was "pleased" about the way the debate was going.

"We're making some pretty good progress toward coming up with a fiscally sound budget -- one that meets priorities, helps on some emergencies, and enables us to say that we've been fiscally sound," he said.

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Recreating Iraq
Washington (UPI) Dec 17, 2007
This column is a product of the Fourth Generation War seminar, whose earlier products include the Field Manual FMFM 1-A, Fourth Generation War. The seminar, which I lead, is composed of U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army officers, mostly captains.







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