Dems Cop Out, Iraq Spending Bill Has a “Non-Binding” Pullout Date For Iraq

The Associated Press is reporting this as the Democrats “challenging” Bush and promises a “veto showdown” over the bill, but that sounds like spin to me. The real victory here is for Bush.

WASHINGTON — House-Senate negotiators approved a $124.2 billion Iraq war funding bill that sets up an almost certain veto fight with President Bush by requiring him to begin a withdrawal of U.S. forces by Oct. 1.
The stated goal is to remove most American combat brigades by next spring, but no binding deadline is set and significant forces could remain to train Iraqi units and pursue al Qaeda terrorist elements. In the interim, full funding is provided for the increased troop levels requested by the president this spring and summer.
But the timetable is shorter than what the House first voted on, and the fixed start date for a drawdown remains contentious. Mr. Bush, who met with his Baghdad commander, Army Gen. David Petraeus, again warned he would veto any measure that sets “an artificial timetable” for removing U.S. forces.

The “showdown” between Bush and the Dems over Iraq isn’t beginning, it’s over.
Bush won. Now all he needs to do is claim his victory.
The Democrats blinked, and for all their bluster the most anti-war element they could muster for this bill is a “non binding” withdrawal deadline.
If I were Bush I’d sign this bill the minute it hit my desk, and then make this brief statement to the American people:
“I signed this legislation today despite the inclusion in it of a non-binding withdrawal date from Iraq. I did this because it allows us to pursue the war in Iraq with full funding without any encumbering mandatory withdrawal dates. I did this because I’m willing to let the Democrats play their games and include their foolish, mean-nothing provisions in this bill if it means that we can get the funding the troops need to them as soon as possible.”
The media is in full spin mode, though. They’re talking of the “veto showdown” so that when Bush does sign this bill, and I think he will, they can say “BUSH CAVED AND AGREED TO A WITHDRAWAL DATE!” Which isn’t exactly true. He agreed to a non-binding withdrawal date that he has the full authority to ignore if he wants.

Tags: , , , ,


«
»
  • http://www.ski-blog.com/ sayanything-24

    The battle needs to be fought over the pork. There is a lot in this bill to fight over still and that needs to be brought out.

  • http://www.ski-blog.com/ sayanything-24

    sorry, for ’08. I think that ’06 ship sailed a while ago.

  • http://www.ski-blog.com/ sayanything-24

    the real fight should be over entitlement spending; pork spending is a drop in the bucket in comparison. As I see it, political capital shouldn’t be wasted on side projects, it just waters down what the main thrust in fiscal restraint should be.

    I don’t see it as pork spending. I see it as the glue that Nancy Pelosi used to hold together the single most important issue of the next year and a half.

    This isn’t really Bush’s problem, but the Iraq War spending is not what this fight is about. Bush is going to get the money one way or another. This is about backing the Dems into a corner and continuing to expose the rift in their party to the Soros base as well as to the moderate base. Every single day that this drags on, individual Dem candidates have to fight those two competing groups.

    The way things are, the Dems appear moderate, yet have appeased their far left base by claiming that they are forcing an end to the war. They can’t have it both ways. To campaign that they support the troops by funding them, but are ending the war by setting an admittedly non-binding withdrawl date. Every single vote on the issue is valuable for 2006 because it sets up the “you voted for the war originally, why vote to get us out now” logic that was used effectively against Kerry. This bill gives them an out when those questions start coming. You veto it and force them to rewrite it and Bush comes out the victor and it puts the Dems on the record either for the war or against it and that is like herding cats, hence why Pelosi had to bribe them with pork.

    Does Bush even know how to veto a bill, BTW? I bet Rove had to get out the Constitution to remind him that he actually could veto bills.

  • http://www.bryancatherman.com/ Bryan Catherman

    It’s sad that so many lives are simply the pawns of this political chess game. It seems that wins and losses in Washington don’t include a death count like it does in Iraq.

  • carrick

    Rob, I dare to say he could have ignored a firm withdrawal date just as easily. That portion of the legislation would have been unconstitutional in any case.

    Justin, in my view, the real fight should be over entitlement spending; pork spending is a drop in the bucket in comparison. As I see it, political capital shouldn’t be wasted on side projects, it just waters down what the main thrust in fiscal restraint should be.

    The main complaint I have with pork is the corrupting influence of it, however, the same can be said times 10 of entitlement spending. In some areas, it’s how the Democrats buy their votes. How much more corrupting can you get than en masse purchasing of people’s votes?

  • robert108

    Being nice to the Dems is like being nice to the terrorists; it just encourages them to be more aggressive.

  • Bat One

    Does Bush even know how to veto a bill, BTW? I bet Rove had to get out the Constitution to remind him that he actually could veto bills.

    Justin,

    Good point! It’s ironic that with all the heat Mr.Bush has taken from the Left over the years for being an Evangelical Christian, his would have been a far more successful presidency had he not been so damn nice to those who are his sworn enemies. A little more conservatism and a bit less compassion would have served us all well.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com robport

    Rob, I dare to say he could have ignored a firm withdrawal date just as easily. That portion of the legislation would have been unconstitutional in any case.

    Which is undoubtedly another reason why they made it non-binding.

Create a SAB Readerblog


Recent Comments

Powered by Disqus

Blog Advice and Support
Installs and Upgrades
Theme Modifications
Custom Plugins
Theme Design
Conversions and Relocations
Hacked Site Recovery
Mobile Apps Development