Zero, zilch, nothing. That's exactly what the administration put in the 2005 budget for spending in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, in February, that's what the President said he would need to get through this year: absolutely nothing.

But now the administration has sent an initial request to Congress for $25 billion and that's just the first portion of a request for the upcoming fiscal year that will total at least $50 billion. These funds are necessary to guarantee that the military doesn't run out of money sometime between Oct. 1 and next year, when Bush will go back to Congress for even more.

This request already omits crucial ingredients. According to the State Department, it doesn't include the estimated $1 billion that it will take to staff the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Furthermore, it still might not be enough. Congressional sources believe that the request will end up closer to $75 billion for 2005.

The first $25 billion is designed to help the Army and other services pay for general operating expenses in the upcoming months. The administration still hasn't let us know how they plan to spend this money. The initial request also allows the President wide authority to transfer these funds to any military or classified accounts by just letting Congress know five days in advance. Can you say blank check or slush fund?

What worries lawmakers about this is that the administration has a track record of shifting funds between accounts to avoid having to fully explain the need or their goal to Congress. The administration has acknowledged that 30 projects were approved in Kuwait to ramp up efforts for war months before Congress voted on the Iraq war resolution. A Pentagon report acknowledged that, “in the course of preparing for a contingency in Iraq, U.S. Central Command developed rough estimates of $750 million in preparatory tasks.”

No matter what, Americans will have to pay, because there is no cheap and easy alternative. But with record deficits, it is irresponsible for lawmakers to approve this “Gun, Butter and Pork,” spending that has no trace of sacrifice. They think we can have a pork fest, we can make the tax cuts permanent and we can continue to spend like drunken sailors. Just send our kids the bill.

Despite the fact that the Federal Reserve chairman is warning of long-term economic damage if we don't get our fiscal ship in shape, President Bush and other lawmakers would rather not talk about deficits, other than to give their assurances that they have a plan to cut it. Assurances are bupkis when there is no clear plan to shore up Social Security and Medicare, defuse tax time bombs and pay for homeland security and other national priorities.

The nation has already poured $165 billion into Iraq and Afghanistan since the war began last year. And the next $50 billion payment definitely won't be the last.

The fact is, the war is not going well. And the gusher of red ink during the President's watch poses a political dilemma. While it's difficult to know exactly what the total cost of the war will be, one thing is certain: It won't be zero dollars, and there are enough studies on the costs of war to provide the public with a much more accurate picture of the true financial situation. The public deserves the administration's best estimate of the size of the bill.

In upcoming weeks, the debate over Iraq spending will surely heat up. Despite some wanting to cut and run, it is time for our nation to spend what it takes to make sure our young men and women in uniform have what they need. But only if the administration completely discloses how the money will be spent and stays on the up and up.