Obama Looking for Added $83.4 Billion in "Special War Money"

In a very unusual turn of events, President Barack Obama has requested $83.4 billion for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, in part to support additional troop funding. The move is one that he opposed just two years ago as a senator from Illinois. With the request, Obama would see the total war expenditures in those two countries since 9/11 exceed $1 trillion. Other military requests included $350 million in Pentagon funding to assist Mexico with violent drug cartels, as well as $400 million to assist Pakistan with counterinsurgency operations.

While most of the money being requested will be funneled to Iraq, there is also a shifting toward the Afghanistan front, a reflection of Obama’s priorities in the region. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Obama noted, ""Nearly 95 percent of these funds will be used to support our men and women in uniform as they help the people of Iraq to take responsibility for their own future — and work to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledged to reporters that Obama had been critical of special legislation used by the Bush administration for war funding, and that Obama’s request is, essentially, an exact replica of the Bush approach. Gibbs also noted, however, that this time it was "needed" because the additional funding will be "required" by the summer. Gibbs went on to say that "This will be the last supplemental for Iraq and Afghanistan." Obama’s request is expected to easily win approval in the Democrat-controlled House and Senate.