U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
Last night, the U.S. House voted to bring the troops home. This Tuesday will mark four years since President Bush declared "Mission Accomplished". It's clearly time for a new direction.
"How many more suicide bombs must kill American soldiers before this president offers a timeline for our troops to come home?
How many more military leaders must declare the war will not be won militarily before this president demands that the Iraqis stand up and fight for their country?
How many more terrorists will President Bush's foreign policy breed before he focuses a new strategy, a real strategy?
This bill says enough is enough."
-- U.S. Representative Patrick J. Murphy (D-PA), Iraqi War Veteran
Link to Congressman Murphy's speech:
Re: U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
stand by for a GWB veto !!! This bill is going nowhere as long as it has a withdrawl timetable attached.
Re: U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
The Democrats just don't want to have the War in their hands if they gain the Presidency. They are trying to get the Troops out before their is a Democratic President. The Democrats will look like asses unable to cure all the ills, they are finger pointing to now. I smell fear.
Re: U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
The Democrats were elected to a Congressional majority in 2006 largely as a reaction to Bush's failed policies in Iraq. It was as close as we'll get to a national referendum on Iraq. It's time for King George II to honor the will of the people.
Re: U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
Re: U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Chicagoeditor
About fucking time.
Here here!!
Re: U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
If Pres. Bush, or his advisers, really wanted to pass off the responsibilty for the future outcome in Iraq for political gain, all he would have to do is sign this bill. The Democrats would then own the war. A bit of a a risk on their part, but Pres. Bush, despite the party driven politicization of the rest of government, clearly, truly believes that his prosecution of this war is correct and just. Congress should send him a clean bill and effort to tie this disaster solely to the Republican party for years to come.
Re: U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
Hmmm, i think this is an relatively clever bit of politiking on behalf of the democrats.
They know the bill be veto'd and i'm guessing are hoping to god it will be.
They won the congressional elections due to the failure of iraq-therefore they need to be seen to be doing somehting about getting out of iraq. HOWEVER, the inevitable troop withdrawl will bring increased violence, perception of losing the war (not that it isn't already lost imo), something which either cannot afford to have associated with them until the outcome of the presidential election. If the rebublicans pulled the troops out cause of congress, political strategists can turn it around into a democrat failure, poor on security blah blah blah...
The democrats, polititically speaking, have played a strategically very clever card-they are not seen as abandoning the troops, yet (if george the smaller veto's) are firmly establishing their opposition without any real threat of the consequences of withdrawl affecting their presidential candidate. On flip side they're also re-iterating the image of the rebublicans as committed stubbornly to a failing war.
If they did nothing the republicans can critise them, same goes for if they succeed.
This is a storybook outcome (if veto'd) for democrat stategists.
Re: U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
^^^ except they didn't count on the Rudy factor ...
(snip)" Critics, including GOP front-runner Rudy Giuliani, slammed the definitive pullout plan.
Appearing yesterday on comedian Dennis Miller's inaugural syndicated radio talk show, Giuliani said a timetable aids the terrorists.
"When has an army ever given the enemy a timetable for its retreat?"(snip)
from
Republican strategists are of the position that these continuing battles between GWB and congressional democrats are in fact aiding 2008 republican presidential candidates like Rudy, if for no other reason than by creating a situation where it can later be claimed that Democrats had a majority of both houses of congress yet weren't able to accomplish anything at all legislatively (other than tax increases and pork).
Quote:
They won the congressional elections due to the failure of iraq
^^^ This is a Democratic assumption. It is also argued that the democratic victories in the 2006 elections were the direct result of conservative voters staying away from the polls to show their displeasure with 'non-conservative' republican candidates.
~
Re: U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
^^^^ must be more transparent than i think! :P
Your totally on the mark-it is a democratic assumption and i acknowledge that any victory/failure usually goes beyond any one issue.
That said, the swing in the voting public (namely 'swing voters', as they are the only ones who really matter politially) have shown that the rebublican interest in iraq is severely aginst the public mood-the 'public' want a withdrawl (for better or worse) and this has undoubtedly damaged the republicans. This is why the bush veto plays into democrat hands-even if they can't DO anything despite holding the congress they can claim, come election time, the only thing that stopped them is the presidential veto-this, is why they have insisted in pushing through this bill, aware that it will fall at the final hurdle.
It sets up a strategic opposoition without the inevitable fallout.
Re: U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
The ones really getting hurt is this pre election power play are All of the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Civilians working in Iraq and in Afghanistan. To pass the Bill invalidates every success and sacrifice. A Veto means no funds for fuel, rations, and ammo. So I ask you is more important enough to sacrifice the lives of those who volunteered to protect you, that you would kill them, to have your preferred politician in place?
Re: U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ArmySGT.
The ones really getting hurt is this pre election power play are All of the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Civilians working in Iraq and in Afghanistan. To pass the Bill invalidates every success and sacrifice. A Veto means no funds for fuel, rations, and ammo. So I ask you is more important enough to sacrifice the lives of those who volunteered to protect you, that you would kill them, to have your preferred politician in place?
I'm confused. How does pulling them out in the future invalidate their past victories/successes/sacrifices?
Re: U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
Of course there was more that one issue affecting the 2006 Midterms. Concerns about income inequality have been trending up since the beginning of the decade. The public perceives the Democrats as stronger on equal access to education, Medicare, Social Security, and other programs that level the playing field.
Re: U.S. House votes for Iraq withdraw timeline
well, the promised veto was delivered, and the congressional override attempt failed. GWB has now called for a new bill that will not include a 'pullout timetable', and will also not include some $20 billion dollars worth of 'pork' for democratic congressional districts.
Speculation has it that the next bill will make an attempt to link funding of our troops in the middle east with the passage of an increase in the federal minimum wage, which democrats promised in the last election cycle but have so far been unable to deliver.