I’m not a rocket scientist but two things recently came to my attention that when taken together, appear to paint an ominous picture of what we can expect in the next 18 months of Bush’s Imperial Presidency.
The first is this:
http://www.politico.com/...
The above link leads to a letter sent by 70 members of Congress declaring they will no longer provide carte-blanche funding for the war in Iraq. The meat of the letter is this:
"We are writing to inform you that we will only support appropriating additional funds for U.S. military operations in Iraq during Fiscal Year 2008 and beyond for the protection and safe redeployment of all our troops out of Iraq before you leave office."
This letter, sent today or yesterday to Bush, is signed by 70 democratic members of congress.
On July 17th Bush signed an executive "Blocking property of certain persons who threaten stabilization efforts in Iraq"
http://www.whitehouse.gov/...
The whole document is a violation of the 4th and 5th amendments, but what I found particularly alarming was this statement
", GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that, due to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by acts of violence threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq and to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, it is in the interests of the United States to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, and expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004. I hereby order
The above statement ties the security of the United States to the chaos in Iraq then goes on as follows:
Section 1. (a) Except to the extent provided in section 203(b)(1), (3), and (4) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(1), (3), and (4)), or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order, all property and interests in property of the following persons, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense,..."
"...(B) undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people;"
My question is this. What is the real intention of this statement? Given that a letter was just sent to Bush stating specifically that 70 members of congress will refuse to provide him with funding unless it associated with troop withdrawal? Will this be interpreted as "undermining the efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq..."?????? I think we need to talk about this.