A couple days ago we called for preemptive resolutions to oppose the unpopular Bush escalation proposed for Iraq. There are now at least two measures pending to do just that. In the Senate, Ted Kennedy has introduced S. 233 which would prohibit the White House from spending any federal funds on an increase of troop levels in Iraq without express Congressional consent. On the House side, Marty Meehan's H Res. 41 would require a parallel authorization. All we have to do is speak out in sufficient numbers and these bills will become law. The overnight polls show that those numbers should definitely be there, if we can just inspire our friends and neighbors to take vocal action. Dennis Kucinich is also bringing forward a resolution to actually mandate a phased withdrawal and we will support that too when it is introduced.
With regards to the Kennedy bill, Harry Reid was quoted yesterday as saying he would "prefer" a non-binding resolution as way of sending a "message" to the president. Despite his recent letter advocating against the escalation, on the point of what actual action to take Harry Reid has it wrong. The only message non-binding resolutions would send is that Congress lacks the courage to confront the incorrigible bullies in the White House. We might as well set up a special conference room in the Capitol for public hand wringing. By defying absolutely the entire rest of the government not including his few remaining quislings, George Bush is deliberately FORCING a Constitutional crisis. We have no choice but to stand up to him directly and immediately.
There were many entirely false premises in Bush's awkward and uncomfortable speech last night. But central to it all was the assertion that the Iraqi people want us in their country to bring them our wonderful democratic system of government. That time is long past. Absolutely every poll there demonstrates they overwhelmingly want us to just leave. The entire world knows George Bush invaded Iraq for the SOLE purpose of stealing their oil resources. Talk about bringing our kind of government to Iraq, they are about to try to force through a new hurry-up hydrocarbon law to cut up and encumber their oil fields that nobody in the Iraqi Parliament there has even read yet. Isn't that the way they used to pass legislation here in our own country, in the middle of the night without even a fair read?
It's not just Democrats, there are many Republicans who increasingly alarmed by the new Bush lurch in the direction of sheer madness. Chuck Hagel was quoted as saying, "This is a dangerously wrong-headed strategy that will drive America deeper into an unwinnable swamp at a great cost." That's an understatement. Although all the pre-speech marketing was about some kind of temporary "surge," Bush used that word not one time in his prepared statement. Instead he painted a picture of at LEAST another year of ever increasing violence, backed up with barely veiled threats to wage full scale war on BOTH Iran and Syria. All those air craft carriers steaming to the Persian Gulf are not going there for R & R. They even have a shiny new naval commander installed in charge of Iraq now, to direct the launch of the cruise missiles.
The plain facts are these. The only reason why the Iraqi people endured the charade of purple finger elections was they thought if they indulged us in that we might actually leave. As fed up as the American public is with our military presence there, the Iraqi people are even more so. Bush has made an unholy alliance with a stooge (al Maliki) of some of the very Islamic militants (al Sadr) they have been rattling sabers at for the last four years. And when he warns that the Iraqi government will fall without being propped up by our uranium spitting gun ships, it is because it is too corrupt and infiltrated to survive on its own. As horrific as the casualties have been so far, under Bush they are just starting.
We must raise every possible voice to call for support of the S. 233 and H. Res 41 right now. These must pass by overwhelming margins. We have very little time. Bush did not even wait to make his announcement to start deploying the new troops. We have an outlaw administration bent on turning a disaster into an utter debacle. Bush must be stopped. And nothing can arrest him but your voices, to pressure your members of Congress to act against him without equivocation or fear.
internet activist with the mission of generating as many policy messages to Congress as possible
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