President Bush asked Congress on Monday for $81.9 billion to keep the conflicts going this year and to finance other U.S. efforts overseas, including aid to help Indian Ocean countries rebuild from last December's tsunami. He said the money would help Iraq and Afghanistan pursue ''the path of democracy and freedom.''

Assuming congressional approval, which seems likely, the proposal would push the total spent in Iraq and Afghanistan and other efforts against terrorism beyond $300 billion. It stood at about $228 billion before Bush's latest request, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which writes reports for Congress.

The U.S. involvement in Vietnam, which lasted more than a decade when it ended in 1975, cost $623 billion when that era's expenditures are converted to the value of today's dollars, according to research service figures.

Bush asked lawmakers to pay for the new spending by borrowing the money - which will make huge federal deficits even larger.

He said the money would also help protect U.S. troops, track down terrorists and enhance Middle East peace prospects.

''I urge the Congress to move quickly so our troops and diplomats have the tools they need to succeed,'' the president said in a statement.

The request was the latest demonstration of how the soaring costs of war - and the ongoing reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan - have exceeded the administration's early characterizations.

White House officials had derided former Bush economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey's early estimate of a $100 billion to $200 billion price tag.

About $77 billion of the total was for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, while about $5 billion was for aid to U.S. allies.