Defense official rejects call for more troops in Iraq, Afghanistan

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz Wednesday repeatedly rejected House Armed Services Committee members' suggestions that the heavy commitment of U.S. forces in Iraq and in the global war on terrorism demonstrates the need for additional troops.

But Wolfowitz conceded that the extensive cost of the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan could force the administration to request a supplemental appropriation by the end of the fiscal year.

The issue of a supplemental was raised by Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., who said operations in Iraq were costing $3 billion a month and Afghanistan took $1.5 billion.

Without endorsing those numbers, Wolfowitz said, "it is very possible we will need a supplemental. But until we get to the end of the [fiscal] year, it's hard to predict how much."

The suggestion that the armed forces were overextended and could use reinforcements came from both Republican and Democratic committee members, starting with Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.

Wolfowitz argued that increasing force levels without raising Defense spending-which he did not endorse-would take away money needed to modernize the force and to improve quality of life for the existing service members.

Instead of adding U.S. troops, he asked Congress to provide the Pentagon more flexibility in reallocating its appropriations so it can hurry up the process of training and equipping new armies for Afghanistan and Iraq, which would reduce the demand for Americans.

He also repeated the Pentagon's plea for authority to carry out the base realignment and closure round scheduled for 2005.

And although the Pentagon's number two civilian official cited the reasons for changing the way U.S. troops are based around the world, Wolfowitz would not offer any details, other than the previously announced plans to shift U.S. troops in South Korea.