Middle East News
US House passes measure opposing Bush on Iraq (1st Lead)
Feb 16, 2007, 21:03 GMT
Washington - The US House of Representatives on Friday passed a non-binding resolution disapproving President George W Bush's deployment of more troops to Iraq.
The symbolic 246-182 vote was the sharpest congressional rebuke yet of Bush's policy in the nearly four-year long war and comes three months after the Democratic Party won control of Congress. Democrats are trying to push a similar measure through the Senate.
More than a dozen of Bush's Republicans voted with the Democrats after four days of contentious and emotional debate. Bush has said he will proceed with a 21,500-strong troop surge despite congressional opposition, and accuses Democrats of prejudging his plan to secure Baghdad before giving it a chance to work.
As the chief commander of the military, Bush is not required to abide by the resolution. Some Democrats have threatened to withhold funding for expanding the American presence in Iraq, a move that would set up a major confrontation with the White House but is unlikely to gain much support.
Bush announced the troop increase in January as part of his revised strategy to secure Iraq and halt sectarian violence that has brought the country to the brink of full-blown civil war.
'Members of Congress have every right to express their opinion - and I fully expect them to do so,' Bush said Thursday in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
The US presence in Iraq will swell to more than 160,000 troops under Bush's plan. Most of the additional troops will go to Baghdad, which has been the centre of most of the violence.
Rather than sending more troops to Iraq, Democrats want the president to begin drawing up plan to pullout.
'This administration has mishandled the situation in Iraq from the very beginning' Representative Henry Waxman, a longtime critic of the war, said before the historic vote.
Democratic Senators were expected to take up their measure in an unusual Saturday session. Earlier this month Republicans succeeded in blocking debate on the resolution in Senate, where Democrats have a much slimmer 51-49 majority.
Polls show most Americans oppose the war and the troop increase, and at least a dozen of House Republican were expected to vote with the Democrats.
Republican lawmakers accused Democrats of politicizing the issue to undermine Bush and say the resolution reflects an abandonment of the mission in Iraq that will hurt the moral of US forces.
Bush appointed General David Petraeus, an anti-insurgency specialist, as his new commander in Iraq. The Senate approved the posting without opposition on January 26.
'This may become the first time in the history of the United States Congress that it has voted to send a new commander into battle and then voted to oppose his plan that is necessary to succeed in that battle,' Bush said.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
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i wander if the airplanes had hit sanfanciso would peoloski think she is so smart. we have to begin now to vote out all the idiots that voted for this resolution. our soldiers lives are more important then is mud sucking idoits,=.
Just for the record, America made Iraq weak ever since it started sanctions with it a few decades ago. And in case we have forgotten, the reason for us going into war was not to save this 'weak nation' but because we were fooled into believing there were weapons of mass destruction that threatned our security. Overthrowing the dictator and spreading democracy became our reasons after the fact.
I think then Governor George W. Bush put it well when regarding President Clinton declining a withdrawal timetable for Kosovo, saying 'Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is.'
wake up america. the war was started by cooked information by the people who actually planned and carried out the 911 attack. look up www.loosechange.com to see the proof.this war is not about democracy but the bushes family quest to control all the oil and the world eventually. bush wont stop till all our herotic service men and women are killed.then there will be no one to stop his murderous rampage.
I don't support Iraq, or its civilians, and that entire justification was made in hindsight. The war remains one of the biggest mistakes ever made by a US president, and the reasons for our involvement remain as uncertain as ever. And lets be clear about one fact, in this case, the US are the aggressors who broke the status quo and invaded an sovereign state unprovoked. Unfortunately, due to the pig-headed nature of our 'elected' leader we will be dealing with the consequences of this debacle for years to come.
So what? What good is a symbolic 'non-binding' vote. This is a show for the public, and the war agenda will continue as planned.
The American people do not support this war.
I'm a little confused as to how the U.S. will benefit from this war ? I know it's killing a lot of our boys, If we are gonna stay over there and fight, give our boys the tools and manpower to finish the job so they can come home.
Impeach the son of a Bush!
Impeach the son of a Bush!
Impeach the son of a Bush!
Impeach the son of a Bush!
Impeach the son of a Bush!
Impeach the son of a Bush!
I'm so upset with this sad day in this Countries History, with the resolution ,as a Vet. I will notify everyone in my state that voted for this and express my feelings and will do everthing to show a no vote of confidance for them in the next election.
SSG D.T.J.
Shame, Shame, Shame...
I just want a list of those that voted to stop reinforcments to those that are engaged in a war for our freedom to be who we are. I especially want a list of the names with an -R next to it.
Consider this quote if you haven't read it before. This is the way it's always worked. Why would we think it's any different now?
'Naturally the common people don't want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, IT IS THE LEADERS of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is TELL THEM THEY ARE BEING ATTACKED, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. IT WORKS THE SAME IN ANY COUNTRY.'
--Hermann Goering at the Nuremberg Trials
But if we fail in Iraq, where will all our oil come from? Maybe we need those soldiers over there dying so I can drive.
The House of Representatives is just that: our representation in government. They were voted for because their views were aligned most closely with the majority of our citizens. Americans are demanding that this war end. Majority Rule. A leader that doesn't listen to his people or their elected representatives, is a dictator. It's frustrating when your views are only shared by a minority of people, but that's democracy.
cloneDNA,
This vote is not stopping reinforcements.
This 'surge' is not reinforcements. In fact, as I understand it, it may interfere with the normal reinforcement process. The 'surge' is being accomplished by extending the stay of troops already there and moving up the deployment of troops scheduled to go. Some of the troops being sent early will not receive the same amount of training that they would have if the 'surge' didn't happen.
Republicans would impeach Clinton for a simple (and personal) bj but this murderer gets away with the murder of thousands of American men, women and children and even countless more Iraqi men, women and children, reduces a non-threatening and functioning arab nation to a terrorist scrapheap AND practically bankrupts a once revered and powerful nation in the process...yet no one even considers impeachment? If this was any other country but the United States the mad cowboy would be tried as a war-criminal (yes, we haven't forgotten the 'bay). Someone needs to put both his daughters in the frontline of HIS war. Proud to say I'm one of the few who didn't vote for this moron.
I find it amusing that the so called 'polls' always come out with the notion that all the American people are dead set against the war in Iraq. Even with 3 telephones in the house, there has never been a call asking my opinion about the way the government is run. With friends commited to both of the major parties, there are very few opposed to the way Bush is running the war. I personally think that the editors of the major news outlets are fabrication the polls to express their opinions
Yes, our Democrat controled congress has spoken. The respect that I have for the whole team of them, especialy, Pelosi, and Chapaqidic Kennedy is slightly less than what I had for ole Sadam. How they can waste taxpayer money on this nonbinding, stupid measure is beyond me. Abe lincoln may not have said, anyone who speaks negatively about this war is a traitor, but I think it certainly has merit when it comes to those who voted for this measure today. Thankfully, my representative did not.
Maybe what we should do is start a petition to stop funding the congress when they are trying to make political points at the expense of our servicemembers.
Better yet, lets just quit funding congress anyway, all they do is make themselves rich at the expence of taxpayers by giving themselves to much pay, a retirement system that cannot come close to anything anyone else has and getting richer by doing favors for big business. (you won't find a poor ex congressperson)
'akuma7703Feb 16th, 2007 - 22:56:29
Republicans would impeach Clinton for a simple (and personal) bj but this murderer gets away with the murder of thousands of American men, women and children and even countless more Iraqi men, women and children, reduces a non-threatening and functioning arab nation to a terrorist scrapheap AND practically bankrupts a once revered and powerful nation in the process...yet no one even considers impeachment? If this was any other country but the United States the mad cowboy would be tried as a war-criminal (yes, we haven't forgotten the 'bay). Someone needs to put both his daughters in the frontline of HIS war. Proud to say I'm one of the few who didn't vote for this moron.'
What a fantastic post. Thanks you sir!
Democrats, News people and terrorists all love the measure that Pelosi and her loyal band of nincompoops passed today. They are all looking forward to the day when the explosions will be in their backyards killing our American children. Then I wonder where they will hide.
A country that has never been democratic will not become so because we wish it. They do not have the democratic underpinnings to take up democracy on OUR terms, it must be based on THEIR terms at their pace. The sands of Iraq are soaked with the blood of our young following a delusional policy of democracy American style.
It is shiite against shiite, sunni against shiite, shiite against sunni, sunni against kurds and sunnii against everybody! These are the same sunni's that saudi arabia funds and dispatches the world over with their message of violence, hate and intolerance. The only winners are the saudis and the defense contractors and all those beholden to and in bed with them. At the end of the day we are doing the saudis bidding and fighting their war of regional domination.
Lets stop the patriotic bullshit and save our young for the real fight against al qaeda, the bunch that dropped several buildings in New York and killed 343 firefighters among the 2700+ deaths. Alot of those kids that signed up for service did so because of September 11th. Our very best are being wasted away on an apple pie fairy tail cooked up by your twisted and delusional president, his comrads in saudi arabia and the defense industry.
President Eisenhower in his last address spoke about the dangers of the MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX!
We have an obligation to study the Iraqi issues and not mindlessly repeat the manufactured jingoisms of the administration, the saudis and the defense contractors that stand to lose MULTI BILLION DOLLAR CONTRACTS>
Thus Sayeth The Lord God/Bush
'I trust God speaks through me.
Without that, I couldn’t do my job.'
— G. W. Bush
Well God must have be a cretin to have made such a mess in Iraq.
CloneDNA said:
'I just want a list of those that voted to stop reinforcments to those that are engaged in a war for our freedom to be who we are. I especially want a list of the names with an -R next to it.'
Just how deluded is it still possible to be? A war for our freedom to be who we are??? The myth that the original invasion was to 'defend' America because Iraq was (1) where the terrorists who attacked the USA were supported, and (2) harboring WMDs and chemical weapons, has been proven to be just that. A myth. Get the paranoia out of your head, Clone -- this has never been anything to do with neutralizing a threat to America, and everything to do with insane neocon empire building and control of the world's oil.
Somehow you and others here manage to equate a reluctance to support this mad experiment with somehow abandoning the armed forces already there. What about the abandonment they suffered from the moment they arrived. Understrength for the job, sent into a situation that every smart intelligence force predicted was nothing but a recipe for civil war -- and now left there trying to survive (for no, they're not saving a weak nation; they are hiding behind what scant armor they have, waiting to be brought home). If the draft-dodging ivy league cabal in the White House were truly worried about the forces, wouldn't they show their faces, just once, at a funeral, or visit, on camera, some of the thousands of armed forces survivors who have returned with bodies destroyed and lives ruined? Of course not -- because that would tell the truth about what's going on, and this regime is not interested in the truth. So wise up. This is nothing to do with your freedom. As if.
pj
Whelp, the leftist ditto heads got to this one I see...
'J.V. Scarsdale New YorkFeb 16th, 2007 - 23:14:24
...Lets stop the patriotic bullshit and save our young for the real fight against al qaeda, the bunch that dropped several buildings in New York and killed 343 firefighters among the 2700+ deaths. A lot of those kids that signed up for service did so because of September 11th. Our very best are being wasted away on an apple pie fairy tail cooked up by your twisted and delusional president...President Eisenhower in his last address spoke about the dangers of the MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX!...We have an obligation to study the Iraqi issues and not mindlessly repeat the manufactured jingoisms of the administration, the saudis and the defense contractors that stand to lose MULTI BILLION DOLLAR CONTRACTS...'
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'properjobFeb 17th, 2007 - 00:17:55
Just how deluded is it still possible to be?...The myth that the original invasion was to 'defend' America because Iraq was (1) where the terrorists who attacked the USA were supported, and (2) harboring WMDs and chemical weapons, has both been proven to be just that. A myth. Get the paranoia out of your head, Clone- this has never been anything to do with neutralizing a threat to America, and everything to do with insane neocon empire building and control of the world's oil...
Somehow you and others here manage to equate a reluctance to support this mad experiment with somehow abandoning the armed forces already there. What about the abandonment they suffered from the moment they arrived. Understrength for the job, sent into a situation that every smart intelligence force predicted was nothing but a recipe for civil war... If the draft-dodging ivy league cabal in the White House were truly worried about the forces, wouldn't they show their faces, just once, at a funeral, or visit, on camera, some of the thousands of armed forces survivors who have returned with bodies destroyed and lives ruined? Of course not- because that would tell the truth about what's going on, and this regime is not interested in the truth. So wise up. This is nothing to do with your freedom. As if...'
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Excellent and intelligent posts good sirs. Good to see some other Americans see things for what they truly are and don't have their heads stuck up their behinds. This was once a respected and revered nation- now it's rightfully become a joke and laughing stock of the entire planet under the 'leadership' of this buffoon. The true culprits of 9-11 were in Afghanistan, a fact the mad-cowboy knew full well. Bush deliberately fabricated reasons (3 separate lies, 3 separate times each time one was proven false) to go to war with an innocent nation (Iraq), in so doing destroying the lives of it's citizens and turning it to a bonafide terrorist haven, endangering not just the US but the rest of the planet. The true threat to American security is George Dubyah- as long as he's allowed to commit these blunders.
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Bob R. Rhinebeck, NYFeb 16th, 2007 - 21:40:20
Government in action is a good thing and this debate has finally come to
the accountability stage. However, The President has received the message the people wanted to send him and has made a commitment to achieve Victory for two nations, and heaven knows this is not easy by any means. The American people are divided but still support the original mission of helping a relatively weak nation to become strong. If given a few more months or a season or two at the most, I believe the insurgents will run out of weapons advantages and have to align with Maliki's government. The Military will bring this to reality now that they are aligned to fight all-out in a true counter-insurgency led by a general who knows how to win this way. He should be supported by hot-head Murtha and fancy Nancy. The press should not be trying to win the war from their desks either. Give Victory a chance!
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