Friday - February 16, 2007

Congress Disapproves

House Passes Resolution Opposing Bush’s Plan to Send More Troops to Iraq
_{WASHINGTON (FOX NEWS) - Friday, February 16, 2007}

House Democrats on Friday sent the Bush administration the clearest message to date on Iraq by passing a resolution that opposes the president’s plan to send an additional 21,500 troops to the war-torn country.

House lawmakers wrapped up a four-day marathon debate leading up to the 246-182 vote. The Senate is expected to take up the debate for a test vote on Saturday. The resolution vote, however, won’t alter Bush’s policy in Iraq or stop the surge of troops into Baghdad.

“The bipartisan resolution today may be nonbinding, but it will send a strong message to the president: we here in Congress are committed and supporting our troops,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the House floor. “The passage of this legislation will signal change in direction in Iraq that will end the fighting and bring our troops home safely and soon.”

Bush pitched his plan last month to send an additional U.S. forces into Iraq to quell sectarian violence there, igniting opposition from Democratic leaders and some Republicans.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., called Iraq a “defeat.” “What we now have in Iraq is a defeat. We cannot achieve the illusions of the Bush administration that we will be able to create a stable unified liberal democracy in Iraq that is pro-American,” Waxman said on the House floor. “Instead, we have sectarian fighting, death squads and a disabled Middle East that threatens to be engulfed by the nightmare that we have unleashed.”

Republicans warn the vote will embolden terrorists and insurgents, and send the wrong message to the troops on the ground, while Democrats argue that the troop surge will risk more American lives.

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., asked fellow lawmakers to vote against the resolution, calling it “misguided and dangerous.” “You cannot support the troops if you are undermining their mission and challenging their commander in the field,” King said on the House floor. “By opposing this new policy, the supporters of the resolution are clearly undermining our new commander in Iraq at such a vital time at the conduct of this war.”

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who chairs the House panel that oversees military spending, said he plans to introduce legislation that would end Bush’s plan by setting limits on which troops can be sent and would prevent them from being sent back too soon or too poorly equipped. Troops going overseas for another tour would have to stay in the United States at least one year before being redeployed.

- More ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 02/16/2007 at 03:32 PM   
Filed Under: • Politics •  
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