Bush seeks $200 billion for Iraq in 2008

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush plans to to cite expensive new gear and the troop buildup in his request for $200 billion to fund the Iraq war in 2008.

If approved, the massive spending request would make 2008 the most expensive year of the war yet, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

Bush's request, to be presented to Congress this Wednesday, will detail the growing cost of maintaining combat forces in Iraq and the expense of new technology, such as mine-resistant trucks which cost three to six times as much as an armored Humvee, the Times said.

The war in Iraq currently costs taxpayers about $12 billion a month, said Winslow T. Wheeler, a senior fellow at the Center for Defense Information in Washington.

"Thus far it has continued to get bloodier and more expensive," Wheeler said. "Everyone says we are going to turn the corner here, but the corner has not been turned."