As reported by AP today:
Bush pushes Democrats to OK war funding
By Ben Feller, Associated Press Writer | November 29, 2007
WASHINGTON --President Bush sternly pressed Democrats to approve money to fund the Iraq war "without strings and without delay" before leaving town for the Christmas holidays, something congressional leaders have already indicated they will not do.
After more failed attempts to pass legislation ordering troops home from Iraq, Democrats have said they plan to sit on Bush's $196 billion request for war spending until next year.
Bush said this will push the Pentagon toward an accounting nightmare and affect the military's ability to do its job protecting the country.
"The American people expect us to work together to support our troops. That's what they want," Bush said Thursday after spending two hours meeting at the Pentagon with military leaders."
No, the American people want Congress to demonstrate the guts to take effective action which results in redeployment, since "supporting the troops" means redeploying the troops.
Bush continues:
"They do not want the government to create needless uncertainty for those defending our country and uncertainty for their families. They do not want disputes in Washington to undermine our troops in Iraq just as they're seeing clear signs of success."
Whoops! It's because of this deployment that service members and their families are experiencing uncertainty. What's undermining our troops is their deployment there, and a Congress which shovels more money with weak strings attached and Texas tractor-sized loopholes which are guaranteed to keep our troops mired in Iraq.
Now, Harry Reid weighs in:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., responded that Democrats will get troops the money they need as part of a "war strategy worthy of their sacrifices."
"Bush Republicans have indefinitely committed our military to a civil war that has taken a tremendous toll on our troops and our ability to respond to other very real threats around the world," Reid said.
C'mon, now, Senator Reid! Redeployment in earnest is what's worthy of their sacrifices. Would Bush's occupation of Iraq exist without the Dems in congress who've enabled it?
Now, here it comes.....what we've all been waiting for....Capitulation, with a capital C!!
Meanwhile, there was at least a sign of a potential breakthrough. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said Thursday that after talking with President Bush's adviser on the Iraq war, he thinks Congress and the White House might be able to end the showdown on war funding.
After a phone conversation on Wednesday initiated by Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, Murtha said he's "more optimistic that there's a possibility now." Murtha, chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee, said one possible area where he thinks Democratic leaders could compromise is on a date to end the war. He said Democratic leaders want Bush to "sit down and work out a plan with the Congress so that we work this whole thing out."
Murtha is an enigma. Here's a Marine Viet Nam veteran, who goes out to Walter Reed every weekend and visits our casualties, then comes back to Capitol Hill and enables more casualties! and then acts as if nothing's wrong in this picture!