Army chief and Rumsfeld in fund row Combat time for soldiers extended

Washington: Relations between the American military and defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld plunged to a new low on Monday over claims by the head of the US army that the Pentagon's budget proposals would leave his forces billions of dollars short of their needs.

In an unprecedented move that underlines the dire state of relations between the uniformed military and their civilian leaders, General Peter Schoomaker, the army's chief of staff, has refused to submit his 2008 budget to the Pentagon.

He made his protest after the White House and Congress ordered swingeing cuts to the army's requests. It reflects a growing sense among generals that their forces are being stretched to their limits by their commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan without receiving adequate funding to fulfil them.

Traditionally, budgetary disputes are resolved in negotiations between the Pentagon and Congress. But General Schoomaker escalated the dispute into a confrontation with Rumsfeld by ignoring the budget deadline of August 15.

"This is unusual," a senior Pentagon official involved in the budget discussions told the Los Angeles Times. "But hell, we're in unusual times."

General Schoomaker was looking for $138.8 billion (Dh510 billion) in 2008, nearly $25 billion above the limits set by Rumsfeld, the newspaper said.

Most of the financing of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has come from emergency spending Bills, leaving the annual defence budget to pay for personnel costs and weapons procurement.

But the army argues that its share of the regular budget is insufficient to fund its role in the fight against terrorism, and in particular the high costs of replacing and repairing equipment used in Iraq. General Schoomaker recently testified to Congress that he would need an extra $17 billion next year to pay for the repair of hundreds of tanks and armoured vehicles. "There is no sense in us submitting a budget that we can't execute," he said.

Rumsfeld has set up a task force to investigate the funding dispute. But even if he backs down, the army will almost certainly then face a fight with the White House and Congress.

Washington: In the latest sign of pressure on troop strength from violence in Iraq, the Pentagon has extended the combat tour of 4,000 US Army soldiers.

It is the second time in as many months that an Army brigade has seen its year-long deployment lengthened.

The 1st Brigade of the 1st Armored Division, which is assigned to Ramadi, capital of volatile Al Anbar province, will remain in Iraq an additional 46 days, officials said. Originally scheduled to leave Iraq in January 2007, the brigade is now due to return to its home base in Germany in late February. The Pentagon would also speed up the deployment of another brigade to relieve the 172nd Stryker Brigade.