[EdGreene]

My Laptop caught this latest virus and I'm sidelined. Bought a new hard drive for it and COMPUSA is installing it. Also bought a 200 GIG MAXTOR 7200RPM hard drive for this machine for $129.99!**
Looks like the 8th now before I leave.
**Anyone here besides me old enough to remember when a 1+ GIG hard drive cost about $1,000?
____________________________________

Bush Seeks $25 Billion More for Iraq, Afghanistan
By Adam Entous and Anna Willard
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) on Wednesday asked Congress for an additional $25 billion for military operations in Iraq (news - web sites) and Afghanistan (news - web sites), breaking a pledge not to seek more money before the November election.
The White House had long insisted it would not need more money until next year, but the surge in violence in Iraq and pressure from fellow Republicans in Congress forced Bush to reverse course. Critics had accused the White House of hiding the true cost of the war by not asking for the money it knew would be necessary.

Bush, truly unaware of his difficulties, has flip-flopped big time.
"Pressure from fellow Republicans" is only half of the reason.

[quote]"Recent developments on the ground and increased demands on our troops indicate the need to plan for contingencies. We must make sure there is no disruption in funding and resources for our troops," Bush said in a statement.[quote]

This dufus is now in a "plan as you go mode", not knowing or with-the slightest clue as to his next move.

White House budget director Joshua Bolten briefed top Republican lawmakers on Wednesday on the revised spending plan, which calls for creating a $25 billion "contingency reserve fund" as part of Bush's proposed budget for fiscal 2005 starting Oct. 1. The money would come on top of $160 billion in Bush's two previous spending bills for Iraq and Afghanistan.

Oh, I see, now we call it a "contingency reserve fund" to keep from calling it what it is: an increase in spending Bush loudly pledged not to need or ask for; can we say: "Pinocchio"?

"This is not money for Iraq, this is money for our troops, this is supporting our troops. Nobody is going to have any problem with that," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a Texas Republican, told reporters.

Even the stupidest American will finally see through that shibboleth, using the troops as the reason; though the troops are the only thing that counts right now; Bush salvaging his reputation and place in history comes dead last.

"Frankly, I think this money won't be enough, but it will be enough to get us through until the administration requests a major supplemental,"

Read "Additional money" in that poorly veiled wording.

The move comes one day after the Pentagon, faced with growing military casualties in Iraq, announced that it was scrapping a plan to reduce its forces and would keep about 138,000 troops there through at least the end of 2005.

Another major flip-flop that must now sting Dubya like a whip.

"It is needed. Otherwise, the military will be drawing down their (operations and maintenance) accounts like up-armored Humvees, which are desperately needed ... and other things that our men and women of the armed forces need. The funds have to be there to pay for them," said Senate Armed Services Committee (news - web sites) Chairman John Warner, a Virginia Republican.

Not one person denies the troops are more important now than saving Dubya's miserable hide. He and Cheney deserve whatever falls out from this growing fiscal and political fiasco.

MORE MONEY NEXT YEAR
The $25 billion would tide the Pentagon over until next year, when the White House is expected to need another $50 billion to $75 billion to fund the troops deployments, according to congressional aides. Bush said in his statement that his administration will propose another supplemental funding bill "when we can better estimate precise costs."

More of his, "plan it as we go" lies. He will need more than the $75 Billion; lots more.

Some Democrats have said debating the additional billions of dollars needed for Iraq would spotlight the administration's mistakes in the conflict and damage Bush politically.

And will show, once and for all, that the King has no clothes.

But Republicans suggested it could benefit the president by highlighting his commitment to the troops and by forcing the Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) of Massachusetts, to cast a difficult defense spending vote at the height of the campaign.

Kerry won't even join the debate, just vote for the money and then pimp-slap Dubya for needing his (Kerrys') vote.

One House Republican congressional aide said Bush's so-called "budget amendment" would be submitted to lawmakers within the next 30 days and Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee predicted the funding bill would pass.

No matter what name or brand of trickey the administation uses, the money is still a flip-flop of major proportions.

By adding the money to a 2005 spending bill, the White House will avert the need to submit a stand-alone wartime supplemental that could be more politically damaging for Bush at the height of the campaign. Rather than being taken up on its own, the $25 billion will be considered as part of a larger spending package.

A blatant shell game, to be performed by an embarrased Dubya before an increasingly disbelieving audience. Planning to "hide" the money shows how desperate Dubya is.

Bush's fiscal 2005 budget did not include any money for ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as recently as last week, White House budget officials insisted they saw no need to ask for additional military funding until early next year.

The above statement clearly shows Dubya thought Iraq would be a walkover, that Iraq was his patsy to be played his way and that he would have clear sailing for any mop-up operations in Iraq in 2005 after his re-election. But as Afghanistan showed, we may pacify the cities, but the countryside will be the "Wild West" for some time to come.

But some members of Congress -- and the administration -- were worried that with extra forces and equipment needed to cope the rising violence, funds could run short during Congress's scheduled recess from October through much of January.

The next President will have to dig out the remnants of Al-Queda and settle Iraq. But this administration's main worries before the election will be the death toll, whether the US and interim government are getting along, whether the countryside itself won't or hasn't exploded in civil war and whether the Iraqis can carry off their own national elections.

Dubya is not smart enough to keep all those plates spinning. Then again, he won't have to: Kerry will do just fine in 2005.

[Rep]

I got a flip for you.

Al Quida attacked the U.S. on 9/11.
None of the attackers were from Iraq.

We attacked Iraq.

[LANMaster]

Rep, We (the US) went after the Taliban first, remember?

[Rep]

Yup, we did....Didn't quite finish the job.....Kinda flipped in midstream, that one.

[Rep]

The U.S. once had a long standing tradition of not attacking another country unless they attacked us.

President Bush attacked Iraq. They had not attacked us.
President Bush flipped.

[WarC]

I'm glad we finally got rid of that retarded tradition. Maybe without it 3,000 people and two large skyscrapers would still be standing. We could have wiped up the Taliban and Al Qaeda. before 9/11 even happened. Clinton only dropped a missile or two in there.

Maybe without it we could have rolled right on past Berlin and right through Moscow in 1945, like Patton had wanted to: Without the soviet union, there is no invasion of Afghanistan. With no invasion of Afghanistan, there would be no Al-Qaeda, because there would be no freedom-fighter Osama Bin Laden. He'd be off designing an office building in Qatar somewhere.

Your just asking to get hit with a tradition like that...No wonder everyone hates us!

What Bush is doing now, requesting money a little at a time, covering up the costs...Its all just good politics, and any politician in his seat would do the same thing. He's selling people a product like a businessman. Thats what politicians do. We shouldn't beat up on Bush for doing it and turn around and prop Kerry or something when Kerry would be doing the exact same thing in his shoes.

[columbo]

Originally Posted by WarC

I'm glad we finally got rid of that retarded tradition. Maybe without it 3,000 people and two large skyscrapers would still be standing. We could have wiped up the Taliban and Al Qaeda. before 9/11 even happened. Clinton only dropped a missile or two in there.

Maybe without it we could have rolled right on past Berlin and right through Moscow in 1945, like Patton had wanted to: Without the soviet union, there is no invasion of Afghanistan. With no invasion of Afghanistan, there would be no Al-Qaeda, because there would be no freedom-fighter Osama Bin Laden. He'd be off designing an office building in Qatar somewhere.

Your just asking to get hit with a tradition like that...No wonder everyone hates us!

What Bush is doing now, requesting money a little at a time, covering up the costs...Its all just good politics, and any politician in his seat would do the same thing. He's selling people a product like a businessman. Thats what politicians do. We shouldn't beat up on Bush for doing it and turn around and prop Kerry or something when Kerry would be doing the exact same thing in his shoes.

Wow.....

That could qualify as the most ridiculous thing I've ever read here.

Do you realize how many American soldiers would've been killed if the U.S. ever invaded the U.S.S.R.? Even assuming that the American forces would've been able to defeat the Russian military, there is still the logistical nightmare of trying to maintain control over a nation that size, not to mention a populace that probably wouldn't have just lied down and accepted their fate.

That "retarded tradition" has saved more lives (American and others) than you could possibly imagine. You should thank your lucky stars for that "retarded tradition".

[Rep]

Not to mention, that, "retarded tradition" meant the U.S. took the high moral road. This president has changed that.

[Fidelista]

That "retarded tradition" has been something that Americans have been proud of, and rightfully so. Even though 'flawed' at times, it has been something that many overseas, have only dreamed of. Thats right, throw away a moral high ground, set a entirely new course? ---all from a man, a team, that is the most divisive in U.S history?. U.S. policy sometimes is misunderstood, thats why some problems are insolveable, but at least Americans can/could believe in a moral high road, this is important, just in case it becomes possible in reality.
I am glad to hear someone say "we got rid of that retarted tradition" {in the past tense}. I just wished Mr Bush would announce it offically!.

[plschwartz]

War C

According to http://www.angelfire.com/ct/ww2europe/stats.html
at the end of the German war Ussr had 491 divisions US 94 divided between Eurpoe and Pacific, Britain 31 (also divided). We had more planes 26000 to 16000 but they had tank superiority and interior lines of communication. And of course we still had a war in the pacific to win.