'Give me war cash or lose military staff' - Gates tells congress

US defence secretary Robert Gates has told Congress it must pass laws within days to pay for the Iraq war, or he will order the US Army and Marine Corps to draw up plans to axe staff and terminate contracts.

Gates, who met members of the Democrat-controlled Congress on Wednesday, said he did not have the money or the flexibility to move around funding to cover adequately the costs of continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.