U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday continued to urge the U.S. Congress to pass necessary funding legislation for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush's comments came after he was in briefings with U.S. military commanders at the Pentagon to discuss the urgency of Congressionally-approved troop funding legislation. Funding for American troops fighting in the “war on terror” is “too important” to be put at risk by Congressional stalls, Bush said. The funding, which Bush said the Pentagon warned was necessary to “keep the [U.S.] military running,” is also vital to funding for training of Iraqi and Afghani forces. The continual delay of funding legislation will have a “damaging impact on the operations of this department [Department of Defense],” Bush said. “The warning has been laid out [by the Department on Defense] for the U.S. Congress to hear,” Bush added. The American people want U.S. lawmakers to “guard [Americans] against those who seek to bring another day of destruction [to the United States],” Bush said. Americans “expect us [U.S. lawmakers] to work together to protect our [U.S.] troops…they do not want disputes in Washington…to distract [the U.S. mission] in Iraq,” he said. Additional funding for U.S. troops in U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will give the forces “what they need to succeed in their missions,” and will “let us [the United States] tell our enemies that the U.S. will do what it takes to defeat them,” Bush said.
