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White House gives lawmakers estimate on war's costPresident voices 'concerns' to Putin over sales to Iraq
From John King
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush gave key lawmakers Monday the administration's first estimate of the cost of war with Iraq -- about $75 billion, according to members of Congress who attended a White House briefing. Congressional aides and lawmakers said the pending request by the administration will likely be the first of several "There's more to come. We've got to level with the American people," said Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, an antiwar Democratic candidate for president, charged that the administration "has lost control over the costs" of the Iraq conflict. "In fiscal terms, the costs for this unprovoked and, therefore, preventable war could have covered giving every American child safe, enriching pre-kindergarten classes or every American senior citizen prescription drug coverage for one year," he said. On a day driven by developments with the war, Bush also spoke by phone Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and expressed his "concerns" over what the White House described as "disturbing" illegal Russian sales of sophisticated military equipment to Iraq. "This clearly is a problem that needs to be resolved," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said at a briefing with reporters. He said Putin assured Bush he would look into the matter. The White House, meanwhile, signaled its optimism about the military campaign to disarm Iraqi President Saddam Hussein -- an assessment that follows the worst day for U.S. casualties. "There have been setbacks, there have been casualties," Fleischer said. "Yesterday was a tough day. But when you take a look at the overall plan, as the president has made repeatedly clear, we are indeed making progress." On the matter of the Russian sales of military equipment to Iraq, administration officials said the sales include night-vision goggles, anti-tank weapons and equipment that can jam the global positioning satellite systems the United States uses to direct its new generation of "smart" bombs and other munitions. "We do have concerns that some aspects of this may be ongoing," Fleischer said, even as he emphasized the "U.S.-Russia partnership." Blair visitBritish Prime Minister Tony Blair will travel to Washington this week to meet with Bush and discuss strategy for the war in Iraq, according to administration and diplomatic sources. The meeting is all but certain to take place at Camp David, and could be as early as Thursday, these sources said. An official announcement of the trip will be made in the next day or so, the sources said. Much of the president's day was focused on the war in Iraq. Bush had lunch Monday with the military's top officers to discuss the war and briefed key members of Congress on an emergency war budget request that officials say will be for roughly $75 billion. Byrd said the breakdown for the supplemental, as outlined by the White House was: $63 billion for defense for the war itself, $4.2 billion for homeland security and $8 billion for foreign aid and humanitarian aid. Additionally, some lawmakers want to boost the supplemental to cover other items, such as help for the ailing airline industry. And Democratic leaders want more money for homeland security, saying what the administration has proposed is inadequate. The administration, Byrd said, wants the bill passed by April 11. The president plans to formally unveil the spending request Tuesday at the Pentagon, and then will travel to Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, Wednesday to meet with military personnel involved in managing the Iraqi war effort. The appearances are part of an effort by the White House to elevate the president's public profile to offer encouragement and thanks to U.S. troops, and to remind Americans that the war in Iraq may turn out to be longer and more perilous than some have anticipated. In a related matter, the White House suggested a new Iraqi TV videotape showing Saddam appears to have been recorded some time ago. "Reviewing the tape does not lead anybody to the conclusion that this is something fresh," Fleischer said. Disputing the confidence voiced by the Iraqi leader in the statement, the senior administration official said, "It is clear Saddam Hussein is losing control over his country." The lunch with the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- the military brass -- offered Bush a chance to talk directly to the top commanders about the war effort. But these officers have little direct operating role in the military campaign under way, although the Joint Chiefs chairman, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, is a key Pentagon player in media briefings and interviews. It also comes at the beginning of a week in which senior aides say Bush will make a number of public appearances, including his announced stops at the Pentagon and Central Command headquarters. The latter is most likely to include a visit to a U.S. military base involved in the Iraq war effort. The senior official said the emergency budget request -- formally known as a supplemental budget request for this fiscal 2003 budget year -- will be sent to Congress later this week. Bush on Sunday said he was satisfied with the war effort so far, while voicing his condolences for those killed and his concern for those wounded and taken prisoner. --CNN Congressional Correspondent Jonathan Karl contributed to this report.
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