President Bush plans to ask Congress next month for up to $50 billion in additional funding for the war in Iraq, a White House official said yesterday, a move that appears to reflect increasing administration confidence that it can fend off congressional calls for a rapid drawdown of U.S. forces. The request -- which would come on top of about $460 billion in the fiscal 2008 defense budget and $147 billion in a pending supplemental bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- is expected to be announced after congressional hearings scheduled for mid-September featuring the two top U.S. officials in Iraq. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker will assess the state of the war and the effect of the new strategy the U.S. military has pursued this year. The request is being prepared now in the belief that Congress will be unlikely to balk so soon after hearing the two officials argue that there are promising developments in Iraq but that they need more time to solidify the progress they have made, a congressional aide said.

Hell in a nutshell:

$50,000,000,000 more.

On top of the $147,000,000,000 for the Iraq-Afghanistan supplemental.

On top of a defense budget of $460,000,000,000.

Because Bush is confident that the Democrats won't stop him!

As I've previously noted:

Of course, the new National Intelligence Estimate says, in effect, that the Bush strategy in Iraq has failed. Similarly, nearly two-thirds of the more than a hundred experts surveyed for the Terrorism Index believe the surge has either failed, or even had a negative impact. The Fund for Peace says Iraq is near a total collapse. The Observer reported, a couple weeks ago, that fatigue is crippling our army.

But Bush telegraphed this. He's already made clear that the war won't end while he is playing president. He loves his war. It's his identity. It makes up for all his life's failures. It makes him tougher than the Old Man. He's the Commander Guy, a War President, The Decider. He got to don a codpiece and a flight suit and ride shotgun onto an aircraft carrier. He gave Tweety the vapors.

Now, he wants $50,000,000,000 more. For a war that is lost. For a war that continues to accomplish nothing but death and devastation. Because he's confident that the Democrats won't stop him! Anyone want to prove him wrong?