http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/01/14/wars_hidden_cost_called_heavy/

Piece in the Globe about costs of replacing equipment (and retraining, etc.) from Iraq war, above and beyond ongoing budget needs for sustaining the war ($100 billion expected "supplemental request" for ongoing costs). Important for those of us concerned with interest rates to try to ascertain the real demand, now and in the next several years, for debt financing for the Federal budget. The Pentagon is using the funding crisis to try to deep six some big ticket weapons boondoggles, but these projects, most of which have seen previous attempts to scuttle, have powerful legislators, mostly Republicans Bush is relying on for support on other issues, living off the pork, so I have my doubts about how much will get cut.

I'll go out on a limb and predict (remember, my predictions are always wrong) that the deficit in the General Fund for the 2005 fiscal year will be greater than for 2004, because the economy will grow slower than projections and expenses higher.