The Wire

The Bush administration has requested $US440 billion in military funding for 2007, a massive seven percent increase. At the same time the administration is proposing a 5% reduction in funding for domestic spending. This has lead to questions being raised in the US about the level of influence the Pentagon has within the Bush administration. President Bush has also requested an extra $US70 billion in emergency funding for the war in Iraq, bringing the total spending on the conflict in 2006 to $US300 billion. This has placed the administration under yet more pressure to extricate itself from Iraq as the financial cost of the war mounts. Professor of Strategic and Defence Studies at ANU, Dr Ron Huisken, spoke to The Wire.