Perspective: 25% of Iraq budget for equipment

WASHINGTON: More than a quarter of the money the Bush administration is requesting in the 2008 fiscal year for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere would go toward repairing and replacing military equipment, according to budget figures released Monday by the Pentagon.

The scale of the request illustrates the toll that years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are taking on the military's vehicles, aircraft, weapons and other equipment. But some budget experts say its size also raises questions about whether the military is using the argument that troops fighting in the field need equipment in top condition to increase purchases of equipment generally.

The budget request, if approved by Congress, would allocate $37.6 billion for refurbishment, from a war budget of $141 billion in the fiscal year beginning on Oct. 1.

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