US President Bush told military reserve officers that he wants the Pentagon to receive US$48 billion more in the 2003 budget, the largest increase in two decades.
"The tools of modern warfare are effective. They are expensive. But in order to win this war against terror they are essential," Bush said Wednesday.
The money would pay for a military pay raise, precision weapons, missile defenses, high-tech equipment for ground troops, and unmanned planes that were used to great effect in Afghanistan.
That US$48 billion will be divided between about US$30 billion for the Pentagon and US$18 billion for domestic security that many in Congress urged the president to include in last year's budget.
More money would also go to missile defense testing that Bush said the United States is ready begin. The president told Russia last month that the United States would withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which prevented US testing of missile defense systems.
On domestic security, Bush said he wants more money for the FBI, sky marshals, bioterrorism research and to create a large stockpile of antibiotics. He also would increase funding for the postal service to check the mail for dangerous substances.
The president said he wants more coast guard cutters and aircraft to patrol the shores. This would be in addition to the 30,000 airport security workers the government must hire as part of the aviation security measure passed last fall. He also added that one of the most basic ways to increase domestic security is to train local police and firefighters to respond to terrorism, saying they're our first line of defense.
If Bush gets all the additional money he wants, the defense budget will rise to US$379 billion.
(China Daily January 24, 2002)
