TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 7A
Bush to ask Congress for $75 billion
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush is expected to ask Congress for $74.7 billion to pay for the war with Iraq, assuming a month of combat, and for strengthening counterterrorism efforts at home, lawmakers and aides said yesterday.
The money measure, which the president planned to describe to congressional leaders he invited to the White House, was dominated by $62.6 billion for the Department of Defense. It presumed the military effort to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein would take 50 days, aides said.
The request was also expected to include $4.2 billion for domestic security, chiefly for police and other so-called first responders. And it was to contain $7.8 billion for aid to Israel, Afghanistan and other U.S. allies, a down payment on humanitarian aid for Iraq and for rebuilding the country, and money to increase security for American diplomats.
At yesterday's meeting, Bush was expected to ask congressional leaders to send him a completed version of the bill by April 11, when lawmakers are to begin their Easter recess. He is expected to send his recommendations to Capitol Hill today.
Though lawmakers are eager to demonstrate their support for U.S. troops, Democrats and many Republicans are expected to have problems with parts of the proposal.
Of the $62.6 billion for the Defense Department, the administration is proposing setting
aside $39.9 billion in an emergency reserve fund that the Pentagon could largely spend with limited input from Congress, said Democrats who said they were familiar with a preliminary version of the proposal.
"We need to provide every single dime the troops need, but I do think we need to know where it's going and for what purpose," said Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
Obey said that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "wasn't appointed to be the U.S. Congress with the power of the purse. ... We're supposed to know what we're doing before we open the purse strings."
Democrats were also expected to complain that Bush's request had only $543 million in humanitarian aid for Iraq, $1.7 billion to rebuild the country and nothing for a peacekeeping effort after the war.
Prior congressional and private estimates suggested the longrange expenses for those efforts would be many billions of dollars, though administration officials are hoping allied nations will help with the financing.
Democrats said they were also unhappy that the measure lacked additional money for other domestic programs such as tightening security at U.S. ports, borders, dams and facilities that generate radioactive materials.
Bush was preparing to send the Republican-controlled Congress his request just as lawmakers write a $2.2 trillion budget for 2004. The House and Senate ver
"We need to provide every single dime the troops need, but I do think we need to know where it's going and for what purpose."
David Obey
Wisconsin rep. and top Democrat on the
House Appropriations Committee
David Obey
sions both excluded any funds for a war, though Senate Democrats last week — with support from three Republicans — added $100 billion for the war in their chamber's version, taking the money from Bush's tax cut.
Democrats have complained repeatedly that the fiscal framework — which controls new tax cuts proposed by Bush — cannot be written without knowing what the war will cost. Some Democrats believe that information might undercut support for Bush's proposed tax reductions.
The administration had refused to provide its war estimate until now, arguing that there were too many uncertainties on the battlefield.
The requested defense funds will include $10.4 billion for the call-up of Reserves and National Guard troops and extra salary paid to troops in combat. It will include money for troops searching for terrorists in Afghanistan, the Philippines and elsewhere, one congressional aide speaking on condition of anonymity.
tions and maintenance, and $6.5 billion for new munitions and for research and development.
Also included for the Pentagon will be $44.6 billion for opera-
Foreign aid will include $1 billion for grants and for federal backing of up to $9 billion in guaranteed loans for Israel; $1.1 billion for Jordan; less than $1 billion for Egypt and other funds for countries including Oman and Bahrain.
Afghanistan would get $400 million for humanitarian aid and economic development.
The measure will also contain $1 billion for Turkey. That country has balked at letting the United States base troops there for an invasion of Iraq from the north, but has allowed some U.S. use of its air space.
The request will also include $500 million to improve the FBI's domestic counterterrorism efforts, and about the same amount for the Coast Guard, which has some ships in the Persian Gulf region.
There is also $250 million for a fund the president can use to prevent and respond to terrorist activities, and $125 million for Congress to continue its operations in an emergency affecting the Capitol.
So far, the administration has decided to exclude aid for U.S. airlines, which have been lobbying Congress for assistance to help make up for business lost because of terrorism and the war with Iraq.
Among the chief proponents of such assistance has been House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-III., whose state is home to financially troubled United Airlines.
Anti-war voices decry America
The Associated Press
FRANKFURT, Germany Anti-war demonstrators clashed with police outside the U.S. consulate in Hamburg and peace rallies emptied schools across Italy yesterday in a fresh swell of protests against the war in Iraq.
Protesters found varying ways of making themselves heard.
In Bahrain, a propane gas tank exploded outside a U.S. Navy base and a senior U.S. military official said it was ignited by protesters. The blast shattered windows but injured no one. In Australia, Prime Minister John Howard was heckled in parliament by activists opposed to his support for the war.
Hamburg police turned water cannons on protesters, including middle and high school students, outside the U.S. consulate in the northern German port city.
Police said a group of Palestinians and Kurds armed with wooden sticks, stones and bottles joined about 8,000 students who had been protesting peacefully outside the building and began attacking officers. Police arrested 21 protesters; several protesters and three officers were injured.
An estimated 40,000 demonstrators shouting "Death to Bush, Victory for Saddam," marched to the U.S. Embassy in the West African nation of Mauritania. Some demonstrators carried photos of Saddam Hussein, while others wrapped themselves in Iraq's flag.
In Italy, thousands of teachers and students took the day off to march peacefully through Rome, Milan, Turin, Venice, Bologna, Naples and Palermo.
An estimated 25,000 protesters joined in a peace march last night through the streets of Leipzig, Germany, following the route used by demonstrators who helped cause the collapse of the former East Germany in 1989. A similar demonstration in Berlin attracted hundreds of protesters who marched peacefully from the Brandenburg gate to the U.S. Embassy.
Demonstrations in Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and Bangladesh were smaller and less intense than previous protests, but activists across Asia said a new wave of rallies was being planned.
"Hatred against America is increasing," said Shahid Shamsi, spokesman for the United Action Forum, a hardline Islamic group in Pakistan, where an estimated 100,000 people marched through the city of Lahore on Sunday.
U.S. troops close in on Baghdad, resistance halts key captures
The Associated Press
Five days into Operation Iraqi Freedom, fierce resistance prevented American and British forces from securing the southern cities of Basra and An Nasiriyah
U. S.-led warplanes and helicopters attacked Republican Guard units defending Baghdad yesterday while ground troops advanced to within 50 miles of the Iraqi capital. White House aides said a down payment on war-related costs would come to $75 billion.
and thwarted efforts to extinguish burning oil wells.
"These things are never easy," British Prime Minister Tony Blair conceded yesterday, the day his country suffered its first combat casualty of the war.
Iraq claimed custody, as well, of two American pilots after a helicopter went down, in addition to a handful of POWs taken over the weekend.
Saddam sought to rally his own country in a televised appearance.
Despite Saddam's defiant
pose, a military barracks in the northern part of the country was bombed, and Baghdad fell under renewed air attack by day and by night. Iraqis set up mortar positions south of the city and piled sandbags around government buildings and other strategic locations, in evident anticipation of a battle to come.
"Coalition forces are closing in on Baghdad," Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal told reporters at the Pentagon.
He said U.S. Apache helicopters attacked Saddam's Republican Guard forces arrayed around Baghdad, while another official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a "large portion" of the day's bombing runs were dedicated to hitting the same units.
Asked about ground forces, McChrystal said, "We have not gotten into direct firefights with Republican Guard forces."
That seemed a matter of not much time, though.
The Army's 3rd Infantry Division was within 50 miles of the capital, battling sandstorms more
than Iraqi fire as it neared the approaches to Baghdad.
Some Iraqis waved or gave a thumbs-up as the convoy passed on its dash through southern Iraq, while others stood stoically.
The advance of long columns of thousands of vehicles was aided by heavy air protection that wiped out a column of Iraqi armor at one point and sent some of Saddam's outer defenses withdrawing toward the capital. The convoy passed bombed anti-aircraft guns, empty foxholes and
berms dug for tanks that had been abandoned.
Bush also talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone. Spokesman Ari Fleischer said the president expressed concern about reports that Russia was selling anti-tank guided missiles, jamming devices and nightvision goggles to Baghdad.
In the world's first war to be covered live on television, the news and images of American and British setbacks competed with pictures of battlefield successes.
Saddam Hussein address Iraqis, rallies troops to strike enemy fighters
The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq - With U.S.-led forces closing in on Baghdad, a composed Saddam Hussein tried to rally his people and his troops with a stirring address yesterday in which he vowed that allied forces would be crushed and "victory will be ours soon."
In Washington, a senior U.S.
"Those who are believers will be victorious."
Saddam Hussein
President of Iraq
official speaking on condition of anonymity said U.S. intelligence had determined that Saddam's speech was recorded. However, it is unclear when it was taped —
hours or weeks before the strikes
The Iraqi president appeared in full military uniform and seemed more robust and relaxed than during his last nationally televised address on Thursday, which followed the first round of cruise missile attacks on his capital. There had been unconfirmed reports that he was killed or injured in those attacks.
"Iraq will strike the necks (of
each enemy fighter)," he said.
Taunting the allies, he asked. "Have you found what the devil that besetts your soul promised you in Iraq?"
Saddam urged loyal Iraqis to cut the throats of the invaders and insisted that Iraqi troops would prevail in the fight against a more technologically advanced enemy. He also made specific reference to U.S. tactics and the fighting
around Umm Qasr, in an obvious attempt to show that the address was relatively current.
"Those who are believers will be victorious. In these decisive days, the enemy tried not using missiles and fighter jets as they did before. This time, they sent their infantry troops. This time, they have come to invade and occupy your land," he said.
American officials said nothing in yesterday's speech proved it had been made since the beginning of hostilities. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, described a growing suspicion within U.S. intelligence agencies that Saddam had prerecorded several messages to air during the fighting.
They said Saddam would have to make a specific reference to a recent event to prove he's alive.