Pentagon to seek more war funds before Bush goes

WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The Pentagon will seek more money for 2009 operations in Iraq and Afghanistan before the end of the Bush administration, it said on Tuesday, giving the next president some breathing room on the issue.

The administration will ask Congress next week for $70 billion to pay for the wars and related operations for part of the 2009 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, 2008.

That would be about a third of the typical annual cost of the wars.

The Pentagon had said on Monday the $70 billion would probably be the last funding request for the wars before the end of the Bush administration in January, leaving war funding as one of the first issues facing the next president.

But Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said on Tuesday more money would be sought before the end of Bush's term.

"We are submitting the $70 billion request with the anticipation that at some point we will go back to the Congress and ask for what else is needed in fiscal year '09," he said.

Fiscal 2009 begins on Oct. 1, 2008, during the Bush presidency, and stretches into the next president's first year in office. (Reporting by Kristin Roberts)