I thought they were already built?

Vicki Allen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress on Friday moved to block the Bush administration from building permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq or controlling the country’s oil sector, as it approved $70 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The restrictions included in a record $447 billion military funding bill were a slap at the administration, and Republicans have stripped them out of legislation in the past.

Democrats and many Republicans say the Iraqi insurgency has been fueled by perceptions the United States has ambitions for a permanent presence in the country.

The administration has downplayed prospects for permanent military bases in Iraq, but lawmakers have called on President George W. Bush to make a definitive statement that the United States has no such plans.

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