<span style=”font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;”>So much for Obama being the "anti-war candidate." -Ed.
</span><br style=”font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;” /><br style=”font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;” /><span style=”font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;”>President Barack Obama asked Congress Thursday for $83.4 billion in new contingency funds to maintain U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and ramp up spending in conjunction with Pakistan to counter the Taliban threat to the Afghan government. <br /><br />"We face a security situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan that demands urgent attention,"Obama said in a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Cal.). "The Taliban is resurgent and al Qaeda threatens America from its safe haven along the Afghan-Pakistan border."</span>
<span style=”font-family: verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;”>The Defense Department accounts for more than 90 percent of the request, but $7.1 billion would flow separately through State and foreign aid accounts, including a novel, non-war related $448 million fund set aside to help poor countries cope with the worldwide economic crisis.
<br /><br />While Iraq still accounts for the larger share of the military’s operations, the request reflects a decided shift toward Afghanistan and forging a greater partnership with Pakistan.
<br /><br />http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/21077.html</span>