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| Iraq |
| Pelosi, Reid to announce new push to end Iraq war |
| 2007-06-29 |
| I wish we had the support of the American people to once again stand up -- and shut Congress up on this withdrawal stuff, at least until Petraeus presents his report. Course, they have already announced, they aren't going to believe anything he says. Maybe talk radio can band together once again, and begin to get the word out about what is really beginning to happen in Iraq. At least, something needs to be done to explain what the plan is!!! Most folks I know, haven't the vaguest idea what is going on. Haven't these folks ever heard, "If at first you don't suceed, try, try again?" Yea, yea, yea, I know it all Bush's fault, so what? He has put a new plan in place, at least give it a chance to work. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) are expected tomorrow to announce a new coordinated effort to force votes in July to end the Iraq war, according to Democratic insiders. Reid has already publicly declared that Senate Democrats will offer four Iraq-related amendments to the upcoming 2008 Defense authorization bill, including a proposal by Reid and Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) to set a firm timetable to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by next spring. Pelosi is planning to announce that the House will also vote on a bill setting a new withdrawal timetable of April 1, 2008, although the details of the proposal were still up in the air at press time, according to Democratic sources. The House will consider this proposal as a freestanding bill, said the sources. Pelosi is also planning to force a vote on a proposal by Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, to repeal the 2002 use-of-force resolution for Iraq. This "deauthorization" proposal may be offered as an amendment to the 2008 Defense spending bill, which the House is scheduled to take up following the week-long July 4th recess. And just what will deauthorization accomplish? In addition, House Democrats will push proposals to prohibit the creation of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq, as well as a "readiness" initiative similar to that authored by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.). No permanent bases in Iraq? Isn't that why we are there? The Webb proposal would limit deployments of U.S. soldiers and marines in Iraq by requiring the Pentagon to keep military units from being sent back to Iraq until they have been stateside as long as they were in the combat zone. Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), chairman of the powerful Defense subcommittee on the House Appropriations Committee and a leader of the anti-war movement, is planning to offer his own new measures as part of the Defense spending bill. Pelosi has been quietly meeting with various factions within the Democratic Caucus this week on the Iraq initiative, including Blue Dog conservatives skittish about being seen as anti-military, and the Out of Iraq Caucus, whose members have pushed hard for an end to the U.S. military involvement in Iraq. Both Pelosi and Reid have come to the conclusion that President Bush's plan for a "surge" in the number of U.S. troops inside Iraq, has failed and that Democrats, despite losing their showdown with Bush and the Republicans over the recent Iraq supplemental funding bill, must continue to force votes to end the war. Gen. David Petraeus is supposed to report back to Congress in September on the state of the "surge," but Democrats have decided not to wait for his report. "The surge is a failure, it isn't working," said a Democratic aide familiar with the new initiative. "We just can't leave American soldiers out there dying and not do anything." Reps. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the leaders of the Out of Iraq Caucus attended a meeting with Pelosi, other Democratic leaders and the Blue Dog lawmakers today. After the meeting, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Democratic leaders "are working to build a consensus" within the Caucus on the Iraq proposals, but promised votes all next month on the issue. Hoyer said no date had been scheduled at this time for any of these votes, although the Defense spending bill is set to reach the House floor in mid-July. |
| Posted by:Sherry |
| #3 the House will also vote on a bill setting a new withdrawal timetable of April 1, 2008 Anybody but me notice that's April Fool's Day. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-06-29 20:23 |
| #2 These people have done no good at all. Either they think they are doing what is right and are ignorant, or they know what they are doing is wrong which makes them traitors. In either case, America will pay for making these people their "representatives". I really do not feel like protecting capital hill anylonger. |
| Posted by: newc 2007-06-29 14:34 |
| #1 Current operations in Iraq are meeting with measured success. The Dhimmicrats know it and are frantic to head off any good news/results. We need to bring the same pressure on congress that resulted in defeats for immigrations shamnesty and the Unfairness Doctrine. Don't wait. Get everyone you know on board and start writing / calling your reps. We're defeating our foreign enemies and it's high time we bring that same intensity to our domestic enemies. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2007-06-29 11:16 |