War Room - Salon.com

Thursday, Apr 9, 2009 14:05 EDT

Obama wants $83.4 billion for Iraq, Afghanistan

If Congress approves the president's request, the total cost of the two wars will reach almost $1 trillion.

President Obama is asking Congress for $83.4 billion in funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- more than originally expected. If Congress delivers all the money, it would bring the total spent in the two countries to almost $1 trillion.

The $83.4 billion, which includes about $7 billion in foreign aid -- including $400 million for Pakistan -- would cover costs only through this year. After that, new funding requests will be folded into the annual Pentagon budget. Obama had been critical of former President Bush for funding the wars through these kinds of supplemental requests, but the administration says it had no choice this year because of the timing of Congress' appropriations process.

The administration is likely to face some pushback from within its own party on this, especially in the House, where progressive members are already signaling their opposition. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., has called the president's plans "embarrassingly naive."