The measure, H.R. 2956, is called the "Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act" begins with a "Sense of Congress" by pointing out that the Authorization For Use Of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (AUMF):The Iraqi government is achieving only spotty military and political progress, the Bush administration conceded Thursday in an assessment that war critics quickly seized on as confirmation of their dire warnings. Within hours, the House voted to withdraw U.S. troops by spring.
The House measure passed 223-201 in the Democratic-controlled chamber despite a veto threat from President Bush, who has ruled out any change in war policy before September.
...authorized the President to use the Armed Forces as the President determined necessary and appropriate in order to defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by the Government of Iraq at that time;And since:
the Government of Iraq which was in power at the time the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 was enacted into law has been removed from power and its leader indicted, tried, convicted, and executed by the new freely-elected democratic Government of Iraq;So I guess it's time to end this thing.
The next sections outline a reduction to "a limited presence of the armed forces in Iraq" and then describe how the President, basically, has to explain his general Iraq strategy to the various committees of the Congress, including a justification of the size of the "limited presence" and its duration.
It's called "oversight" and it's what's supposed to be done (it was supposed to have been done all along) by Congress.
The bill passed the House 223-201. Locals Altmire, Doyle and Murtha voting for, Tim Murphy voting against.
6 comments:
Pennsylvania distinguished itself in this vote by being the only state boasting of TWO Democrats voting in opposition to the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act. Aren't we proud?
Fortunately, as Dayvoe pointed out, the only locals who voted in favor of perpetual American deaths and disfigurements in Iraq were members of God's Own Party. They, of course, are proud, being the Party of Death.
Have you lefties surrendered yet? Ready to don your burkhas and enforce prayer? Bush to the left, we will fight till we win.
Actually, anon, I'd say that you're the surrender monkey. You see, we'd like to get our troops out of that cluster in Iraq so they can do what they signed up to do, protect our country. As recent news reports indicate, Al Qaeda is at its strongest point since the 9/11 attacks - you know, those attacks that your president was told could be imminent, the ones he brushed off with "you've covered your ass now."
Gee, why would Al Qaeda be so strong? Oh, I don't know, because we pulled out most of our troops from Afghanistan and sent them chasing imaginary WMDs (I know, I know - you think they're still there, buried on a turkey farm or shuffled off to Syria while our spy planes were sleeping). Brilliant strategy. I'm so glad so many Democrats in Congress supported that.
In any case, I'd venture to say that most of us on this blog would like to ensure that our country is not attacked again and that we can actually go on the offensive against terrorists and others who have serious intentions of doing us harm - which doesn't include guys with a can of gasoline and a few pistols in New Jersey. But it's hard to do that when our bravest are being picked off by snipers and road side bombs in a civil war.
Speaking of which, I'll say it again - if you think the war in Iraq is so vital to our security and you're such a proud American, sign on the freakin' line and get your ass over there. I believe the army missed its recruiting target for the last two months, so your participation would be more than welcome.
Anonymous -- if that is in fact your name -- to treat your question seriously, the answer is "Not exactly."
Lefties have not surrendered in the sense that we have stopped fighting for sensible foreign policy and Constitutional democracy in the United States.
We have not surrendered in the sense that we no longer support organizations such as MoveOn.Org, the ACLU, TalkingPointsMemo.Com, labor unions, and others that strive to break through the right-wing corporate media crap.
Hereafter I am speaking just for me, my impressions: We have surrendered the Democratic Party, as a prime example. We have surrendered it those who nominate the Bob Caseys, the Mike Doyles, the Ben Nelsons, the Hillary Clintons; that is to say, the DINOs. You know, the Democrat men who believe they have the right to control their wives' bodies. The Democrat women whose fears make them eager to eviscerate the Bill of Rights. The Democrat congressional delegation that voted to support this disaster, this Portal to Hell in Iraq.
It would appear that the Democrat Party, in fact the American public in general, has become so enamored with the illusion of safety at any cost, so bamboozled by the Reactionary Echo Chamber, that it is willing to throw America back into a mediaeval social and governmental situation.
We know there is little we can do about transforming this situation into anything acceptable. So in that sense, the answer is yes, we lefties have surrendered.
Thanks for asking.
For those of you who subscribe to the NYTimes (online or in print), David Brooks has an interesting column today on the notion that now that there is some momentum for getting out of the war, nobody seems to be able to agree on or know how we should do that. I, for one, would not like to see Iraq dissolve into chaos because the terrorists would score points on that. You hate to ask to troops (and their families) to stay there , but short of finding another Saddam to be our strongman there, it’s hard to know what to advocate for (as if my advocating for anything makes a diff … never mind). Maybe Iraq should be split into three, and then let the Sunnis and the Tutsi’s, I mean Shia, jockey for oil rich or harbour access territory. No matter what, I think we have achieved Exxon Mobil’s dream of five dollar gas. Europe is certainly going to appreciate us now.
And there is the irony of Pittsburgher’s deciding to take the bus just as the Authority folds up. But I feel a special appreciation for all those suburanites who bitched about the taxes in Pittsburgh and took their SUV’s up to Butler county and drive down 79 at 80 miles per hour (or 15 miles per gallon). Hey, you are the guys that voted republican. Twice.
"Have you lefties surrendered yet? Ready to don your burkhas and' enforce prayer? Bush to the left, we will fight till we win."
Well, politcally, I can't see Congressman Altmire's vote doing anything but helping him in a highly-targeted district. The Bush De-Rangers can howl all they want about 'cutting and running' but most people here in PA seemed to have had their fill of the spin and propaganda coming from the White House on Iraq for quite some time now. For a sitting Congressman to stand up and say as much by way of a vote to those who claim responsibility for this war only reflects what a vast majority of people on both the Left and the Right are already thinking. I'd hardly call that surrender.
As for the idea that the terrorists are gonna 'git' us here if we don't 'git' them there, well, you have fun with that. The fact that it has no basis in reality has never meant much to you and your fellow dead-enders and has only served to heighten the general public's awareness that fighting Islamic terrorists requires more than frantic are-waving and sloganeering. Keep up the good work!
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