US President George W. Bush on Sunday called for more international involvement in Iraq and asked US Congress for US$87 billion to fund post-war operations there amid mounting casualties and escalating costs for the United States.

"Members of the United Nations now have an opportunity, and the responsibility, to assume a broader role in assuring that Iraq becomes a free and democratic nation," Bush said in a nationally broadcast speech.

He said he had directed US Secretary of State Colin Powell to introduce a new Security Council resolution which would authorize the creation of a US-led multinational force in Iraq.

Last week, the Untied States presented the draft resolution to the Security Council members.

"I recognize that not all of our friends agreed with our decision to enforce the Security Council resolutions and remove Saddam Hussein from power," Bush said from the White House's ornate Cabinet Room.

"Yet we cannot let past differences interfere with present duties," Bush said. "Terrorists in Iraq have attacked representatives of the civilized world, and opposing them must be the cause of the civilized world."

Many countries, including France, Germany, Russia and India, have refused to commit troops to the stabilizing efforts in Iraq under the current UN mandate.

The US president insisted the US troops in Iraq was "appropriate to their mission" but said military commanders were seeking a third multinational division.

There are now 21,000 non-American troops led by the British and the Poles in Iraq, supporting a US force of about 140,000.

In his speech, Bush also asked US Congress for US$87 billion for the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Our strategy in Iraqi will require new resources," he said. "We have conducted a thorough assessment of our military and reconstruction needs in Iraq and also in Afghanistan."

Bush said the money he asked "will cover ongoing military and intelligence operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, which we expect will cost 66 billion dollars over the next year."

Calling Iraq the "central front" in the war on terrorism, the US president said "enemies of freedom" must be defeated in Iraq.

Urging the Americans to be patient, he said that "this will take time and require sacrifice."

"Yet we will do what is necessary, we will spend what is necessary, to achieve this essential victory in the war on terror, to promote freedom and to make our own nation more secure," Bush said.

The budget request for Iraq came at a time when Bush was under criticism from Democrats and some Republicans for not having a clear plan in Iraq and for refusing to disclose how much the war would cost the US taxpayers.

US Defense Department officials have said US military operations in Iraq are costing about 3.9 billion dollars monthly. Lawmakers said the military operations and reconstruction in Iraq together cost an estimated 4.5 billion dollars a month.

This is Bush's first prime-time televised speech from the White House on Iraq since the start of hostilities in March, and his first broadcast address to the American people on the subject since May 1, when he announced an end to major combat operations.

Since then, there have been both mounting casualties and escalating costs for the United States.

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2003)