Washington: US President George Bush today (Feb 3, 2004) sent to the Congress a $ 2.4 trillion Budget which featured massive increases on military spending and a record $ 521 billion deficit which he blamed on recession in 2001 and the ongoing war on terrorism.

In his introduction to the security-oriented Budget, Bush said that the Pentagon spending would surge to 7.1 per cent to $ 402 billion in fiscal 2005 and anti-terrorism "homeland security" expenditure booms 9.7 per cent to $ 30 billion.

"We will continue to provide whatever it takes to defend our country by fully supporting our military, which is performing with great skill and honour in our battles overseas," Bush said in his Budget message.

"This nation has committed itself to the long war against terror and we will see that war to its inevitable conclusion: the destruction of the terrorists," he said.

The Budget provides a total $ 440.03 billion for national Defence in fiscal 2005 against a total of $ 453.7 billion in fiscal 2004, the current fiscal year.

Blaming the current record deficit on the soaring 2001 recession and costs of fighting the war on terrorism, Bush, running for re-election in November, however, promised to trim the record $ 521 billion deficit for fiscal 2004 ending September $ 30 to 364 billion in fiscal 2005.

"The reason why we are here is because we went thought a recession, we were attacked and we're fighting a war. Those are high hurdles for a Budget and for a country to overcome," he told his Cabinet.