国际英语新闻：U.S. core defense budget rises despite fiscal constraint

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. "base" defense budget -- excluding the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- for the next fiscal year rises to a new record despite a significant reduction in overall federal spending.

The "base" defense budget for FY 2012 beginning Oct. 1 reaches 553.1 billion dollars, according to a defense budget blueprint released by the Pentagon. This represents an increase of 4.2 billion dollars from the level the Obama administration requested for FY 2011.

However, Obama's budget request for FY 2011 has never been approved by Congress, and the federal government, including the Pentagon, is now operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR) which is due to expire on March. 4.

The latest budget request for the Pentagon represents an even larger increase when compared with the enacted level of FY 2010, which totaled 527.9 billion dollars.

Separate from the core defense budget, the Obama administration also asks for 117.8 billion dollars to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is 41.5 billion dollars below the FY 2011 request of 159.3 billion.

The latest war funding reflects the planned withdrawal of troops from Iraq by the end of this year and a modest decline in funding for Afghanistan operations, according to the Pentagon.

The Obama administration has planned to pull out of troops from Iraq by the end of 2011 and start to withdraw from Afghanistan in July 2011.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed concern about the funding for the Pentagon through the remaining of the current fiscal year, saying there are still "quarrels on the Capitol Hill. "

Presenting the administration's defense spending proposal at a Pentagon briefing, the secretary said he is willing to compromise with Congress on a pared-down defense budget, but it cannot be less than 540 billion dollars, nearly 9 billion dollars less than the White House first requested.

The new budget also emphasizes long-term plan to trim defense spending. Through personnel changes, military healthcare reform and streamlining of the department organization, the Pentagon aims to reduce defense spending by 78 billion dollars over the next five years.