Bush proposes record $439.3 billion defense budget

By Charles Aldinger

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Bush on Monday proposed a
record $439.3 billion defense budget for 2007 aimed at fighting
both unconventional terrorism and major conflicts with other
nations if necessary.

The Pentagon budget sent to Congress represents a major
increase over current defense spending of $410.8 billion as the
White House seeks cuts in domestic spending. It does not
include tens of billions of dollars in proposed new financing
for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Analysts said Congress, under political pressure in an
election year, is unlikely to cut the defense budget, which is
16 percent of the overall $2.77 trillion federal budget.

“I would be very surprised to see Congress taking a big
whack at this,” said Steve Kosiak of the Center for Strategic
and Budgetary Assessments think tank.

“Democrats can’t afford to be seen as soft on defense or
terrorism. They’re going to have to fight the social cuts
without bargaining on defense,” added analyst Charles Pena of
the Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy.

The Pentagon budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1
seeks $84.2 billion for weapons procurement, including more
unmanned aircraft to monitor threats by extremist groups and
governments worldwide, and $73.2 billion for research and
development on new arms. Both are increases from this year.

It would boost Army spending to $111.8 billion next year
from the current $99.2 billion to repair and modernize a
service strained by the wars in Iraq and Afghan. The budget
included a 2.2 percent pay hike for troops.

It also would increase spending for missile defense
programs to $10.4 billion, up from about $8.8 billion that Bush
requested for the current year.

MORE FOR SPECIAL FORCES, SPY PLANES

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended decisions not to
cut major programs such as the Air Force’s F-22 and F-35
fighter jets to pay for improvements in areas like elite
military special forces, intelligence and unmanned spy planes.

“We have been very successful in deterring the threat from
large armies, navies and air forces. On the other hand, those
threats haven’t disappeared,” Rumsfeld told reporters.

A new 20-year Pentagon planning document refers to a
potential future challenge from China.

The proposed budget is only a part of the costly national
defense picture. It does not include $120 billion in planned
new funding for military and other operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan, $70 billion for this year and $50 billion for
2007.

That money is included in separate legislation and would
come on top of the $320 billion the White House budget office
said has been allocated for the wars so far, pushing costs
since the start of the conflicts through early next year to
about $440 billion.

The Pentagon budget also does not include $9.3 billion in
the Energy Department’s budget for maintaining the nuclear arms
stockpile.

The defense budget would boost spending on Special
Operations forces in 2007 and the four years beyond that,
raising those troop levels from a current 50,000 to 64,000 by
2011.

The $84.2 billion request for weapons programs in the 2007
budget includes $3.5 billion for 42 advanced F/A-18 fighter
jets built by Boeing Co., $2.5 billion for two new high-tech
DDX Navy destroyers under development by General Dynamics Corp.
and Northrop Grumman Corp., and $2.4 billion for an additional
Virginia Class attack submarine built by Northrop Grumman and
General Dynamics.

Bush’s five-year defense plan for procuring weapons would
increase such spending to $99.7 billion in fiscal 2008, $109
billion in 2009, $111.7 billion in 2010 and nearly $118 billion
in 2011.