Here in the United States, the Bush administration has indicated it may ignore a Congressional request to include the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in next year’s budget for defense spending. According to Defense News, that’s one of two dozen provisions President Bush says he might not abide by in a signing statement attached to this week’s Defense Authorization Act. Funding for the wars have come through emergency supplementals or “bridge funding” that critics say are more difficult to scrutinize. The latest defense budget signing statement is one of a record number issued during the President’s administration. Bush also signed off on the possibility of ignoring requirements to provide a response plan for dealing with unexploded munitions and studying the accuracy of current methods to assess the safety of the US nuclear stockpile.