The Bush administration is seeking a big increase in spending for missile defense next year, setting the program on course to have a bare-bones system in place by the end of this year and up to 30 interceptors on land and at sea by the end of 2005.

An American soldier in a humvee patrols a stretch of the remote and rugged mountains of Ghazni province, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Jan. 30, 2004. [AP Photo]

The money is part of a proposed US$401.7 billion Pentagon  budget that doesn't include money for ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Officials last year went back to Congress for US$87 billion beyond their budget to fund those missions, and documents obtained by The Associated Press show they expect to have to ask for money beyond this new budget as well.

The documents say they don't expect to do that until calendar year 2005, after November's presidential election.

Overall, the military plans to spend less next year to buy new weapons systems, more on personnel and more to maintain and upgrade helicopters, tanks and airplanes worn down by heavy duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The request for the Missile Defense Agency is US$9.14 billion, according to a copy of the budget that U.S. President Bush plans to send to Congress on Monday. That would be nearly 20 percent above last year's US$7.6 billion for the agency.

The proposed spending is aimed at having 20 ground-based missile interceptors and up to 10 sea-based interceptors by the end of the 2005, as well as upgraded radars and command and control.

The administration says the United States needs to develop missile defenses to guard against "rogue nations" such as North Korea that could fire missiles loaded with nuclear, chemical or biological warheads. Critics say the missile defense plan is too costly and relies on unproven technology.

The Bush administration's missile defense plan is a greatly downscaled version of the plan President Reagan offered in the mid-1980s, popularly known as "Star Wars," which was designed to defend against missiles from the now-defunct Soviet Union.

Pentagon documents say the total military budget of US$401.7 billion for fiscal year 2005 is 7 percent more than 2004's budget of US$375.3 billion, which didn't include the US$87 billion supplemental later sought — US$20 billion for Iraq reconstruction and about US$67 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The documents say officials expect to seek to supplement the new US$401.7 billion request as well — but won't ask for it until after calendar year 2004.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said earlier this month that the budget reflects Bush's commitment to prosecuting a global war on terrorism. He said priorities include investment in quality-of-life programs for troops, improved intelligence and spending to ensure the combat readiness of U.S. troops.

Documents obtained by The AP on Friday indicate that budget planners focused on transforming the military, improving intelligence capabilities and further streamlining Pentagon management.

Other details of the budget, normally closely held until the president sends his request to Capitol Hill, were learned when someone in the Pentagon inadvertently posted them on the Internet. They were later withdrawn.

According to the documents mistakenly posted on the Pentagon Web site, the budget request for buying aircraft will decline from US$2.1 billion to US$1.8 billion.

The proposal also includes more money for spare parts for Army vehicles such as tanks, armored personnel carriers and Humvees: US$20.1 million instead of US$17.9 million. Soldiers have complained that using the vehicles so heavily in the harsh environment of Iraq has caused them to break down more frequently. There is also a slight increase for ammunition.

Personnel needs, including salaries and benefits, were put at US$105 billion, up from US$98.3 billion this year. Other major categories in the US$401.7 billion total include US$141 billion for operation and maintenance; US$70 billion for research, development and testing; US$5.3 billion for construction and US$4.2 billion for family housing.

The Pentagon request is part of an overall US$2.3 trillion budget that Bush will propose.

The Pentagon budget represents 17.8 percent of the federal budget, compared with 15.3 percent in fiscal year 2000.

That's 3.6 percent of gross domestic product, compared with 2.9 percent in 2000.

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