• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

US Congress Poised to Approve Iraq Funding

By Dan Robinson
Capitol Hill
24 May 2007

Congress is poised to approve legislation supporting military operations in Iraq, with majority Democrats describing it as the best achievable at this time, and Republicans claiming victory in forcing Democrats to drop demands for a troop withdrawal timetable. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.

Stripped of language requiring a timetable, the legislation is the result of intense negotiations in the House and Senate since President Bush vetoed an initial Iraq funding measure.

Democratic leaders have faced intense pressure from the far left of their party to impose a timetable, but resistance from the White House forced them to back down.

Rather than continue the standoff with the president, Democrats are trying to shift the debate to other coming legislative battles.

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter sums up the dilemma for her fellow Democrats:

"The president and his allies in Congress have put our soldiers in harm's way and Mr. Bush is willing to keep them there no matter how much they suffer," she said. "If this Congress delayed funding by continuing to back a bill we cannot pass at this time, we would not force the president to end the wear. All indications are he would leave our soldiers in Iraq, and without adequate funding they would have to do even more with even less."

Republicans claim victory, saying they forced Democrats to move away from a dangerous course that would have harmed U.S. troops and threatened the defense of Iraq from al-Qaida.

"We simply cannot and will not strengthen the hands of terrorists who have made the destruction of America their number one priority," said Congressman David Dreier. "We cannot and will not abandon the Iraqis to be butchered by these terrorists in their midst. And we cannot and will not abandon our mission just as real progress is starting to be made."

As they face criticism for dropping withdrawal language, Democratic leaders claim their own victory, citing President Bush's agreement to have the bill include political and economic benchmarks that the government of Iraq must achieve.

The president, who has said he will sign the legislation, spoke at the White House:

"These benchmarks provide both the Iraqi government and the American people with a clear road map on the way forward," said Mr. Bush. "Meeting these benchmarks will be difficult. It's going to be hard work for this young government."

To ensure the $120 billion measure passes, Democratic leaders required two votes, one on the war funding aspect involving $99.5 billion dollars for Iraq and Afghanistan military operations, the other for billions in additional domestic spending.

Senate approval would send the measure to the White House for the president's signature.

The next phase of the Democrat's strategy to wind down the war targets separate defense bills and another Iraq supplemental request from the president between June and September.

"The president's policy is a failure, and no amount of funding with or without conditions can fix it," said Democrat Jim McGovern of Massachusetts. "The only thing that matters now is when and how we end this disaster, and when we bring our uniformed men and women safely home to their families and communities."

John Boehner, the Republican minority leader, asserts that Democratic tactics merely send a negative message to the troops:

"They have gotten a message from Washington that has hurt morale over in Iraq, and those that are fighting for us, and I think sent the wrong message to our enemies," he said.

Meanwhile, Democratic leaders face criticism from the most anti-war members of their party, such as Senator Russ Feingold:

"Instead of forcing the president to safely redeploy our troops, instead of coming up with a strategy providing assistance to a post-redeployment Iraq, and instead of a renewed focus on the global fight against al-Qaida, we are faced with a spending bill that just kicks the can down the road, and buys the administration time," he said.

The funding battle between Democrats, on one hand, and Republicans and the president, on the other, also promises to affect the 2008 presidential race, as key Democratic front-runners will face pressure to explain their votes.