WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Defense has earmarked $141.7 billion in its fiscal year 2008 budget request for the war on terrorism, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
Here is a breakdown of some of the items covered in that request and the amounts involved:
--Combat Operations: $70.6 billion to sustain war fighting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, including supplies, support and maintenance of equipment.
--IEDs: $15.2 billion for force protection and defeating improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which account for most U.S. casualties. Inncluded is $4 billion for developing and deploying measures to defeat IEDs.
--Local Forces: In the effort to speed handing over security responsibility to local forces, the FY '08 request includes $2 billion to train and equip Iraqi security forces and to help them achieve self-reliance. Another $2.7 billion is asked for Afghan security forces.
--Coalition Forces: The Defense Department asks $1.7 billion to help coalition allies and their military commanders on the ground to carry out their missions.
The above breakdown and figures do not include the $93.4 billion requested to cover the costs of the war on terror for the remaining period of FY 2007. Congress had previously provided $70 billion for war costs in '07.
