The Bush administration is expected to announce as early as Tuesday that it will seek about 80 billion US dollars more for US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan this year.

The new request, plus the 25 billion dollars in emergency spending already approved for fiscal year 2005, would push the total costs of US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan this year to 105 billion dollars, officials said Monday.

The administration is expected to formally submit the request to the Congress after President George W. Bush introduces his fiscal 2006 budget on Feb. 7, but details of the funding request would be announced on Tuesday by administration officials, the officials said.

With the new request, the money earmarked by the Bush administration for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and for US anti-terrorism efforts in other places would reach more than 280 billion dollars after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.

Source: CRIENGLISH.com