Bush asks Congress for war funds

Some of the money is needed to repair equipment already in use

US President George W Bush has asked Congress for an extra $46bn (£23bn) to fund the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and finance other national security needs.

It brings the overall amount of war funds the president requested for the next budget year to nearly $200bn.

Mr Bush's formal request to Congress follows on from one made by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in September.

At that time Mr Gates said the money would help pay for armoured vehicles to protect US troops from roadside bombs.

Mr Bush officially requested the extra money in the White House, surrounded by war veterans and the family of a US marine who died in Afghanistan.

He called on Congress to provide American troops with the help and support they needed to get the job done.

"Our men and women on the front lines shouldn't be caught in the middle of partisan disagreements in Washington," Mr Bush said.

Spending review

The supplemental funding brings to a total of $196bn the amount of money requested by the administration to pay for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in this budget year.

Democratic leaders have vowed not to give Mr Bush a blank cheque and suggested they will not examine his latest funding request until the New Year, financing the war with interim funds.

Included in this funding request is $500m for a joint US Mexican programme, the Joint Strategy to Fight Organised Crime, that would tackle the cross border drug trade.

A White House spokeswoman said the United States would do all it could to support Mexico's efforts to break the power and impunity of drug organisations.