So you say you want a resolution an ultimatum?

“President” Bush is planning to invite Congressional leaders from both parties to the White House for milk and cookies to try and resolve the Iraq War funding stalemate.

The only problem is that it doesn’t really look to be much of an attempt at a resolution but rather the throw-down of an ultimatum as Bush made it clear that he would not change his position opposing troop withdrawals.

Said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino; “President Bush will invite Democrats to the White House to discuss their standoff over a war-funding bill, but he will not budge from his opposition to troop-withdrawal deadlines in Iraq.”

Lovely…

When a reporter asked her why lawmakers should even attend a meeting that already has rules of no negotiation attached Perino replied, “Maybe they need to hear again from the president about why he thinks it is foolish to set arbitrary timetables for withdrawal.”

In other words, Bush is going to act like the spoiled little brat that he is and pout and shout until he either gets his way or takes his ball and goes home…

But Bush better be careful, as this is not the gop-controlled parents congress that let him do any damn thing he wanted…
Enter Senator Harry Reid; “Iraqi leaders are not willing to take the political risk of governing their own country. That must change. That's what Congress is demanding. That is what the American people, by a large majority, demand. And the president should be leading us in that direction, not threatening to veto funding for our troops unless we rubber stamp his flawed plan.”

And Reid has a strong point there as the American people overwhelmingly support a change in direction for the Iraq Conflict. According to an April 2-4 AP/IPSOS poll that showed 64% of those polled “Disapprove” of how George Bush has handled the war in Iraq, 59% feel that going to war with Iraq was “A Mistake” and 50% saying the war is “Hopeless”…

During all of this, Bush is trying to increase pressure on the Democrats by playing a pathetic game of trying to shift blame to the Democrats by touting that funds will be cut off and the troops will be the ones to suffer…

Never mind the fact that there IS adequate funding for the occupation until July… (a fact that is backed-up by the Congressional Research Service, whose report shows that our troops have plenty of funds for the next few months)… never mind the fact that the Pentagon can shift funds as needed… and never mind the fact that the previous republican Congress took 118 days to pass a supplemental request, he's trying to create a false sense of urgency, and it’s now been…

... carry the two…...

... 57 days since Bush requested the latest supplemental funding bill and the Democratic Congress passed it.

It’s painfully clear that Bush is attempting to increase pressure on the Democrats and to force them to move, meaning a final decision on exactly what direction the U.S. will take in Iraq may be decided very, very soon.

The only question is will it follow the path that a majority of American’s want, more responsibility from Iraq and a timetable for U.S. withdrawal? Or will the President gather up his toys and go home?

Stay tuned…

Can we talk about facts again?

The Bush(whacked) administration supports the troops, and the Liberals don’t support the troops because they’re the ones trying to get the troops OUT of Iraq…

At least that’s the way the fuzzy-logic works with this administrtion.

Two things in the last few days are perfect examples of how much this administration “supports”the troops…

First, from the Associated Press comes word that two Army combat brigades are skipping the usual desert training session. Essentially the troops are being rushed into service by Bush's decision to escalate, thus not giving them the opportunity to train at the premier Desert-training range in California and instead will make their final preparations at their home bases… what this means is the troops will be forgoing training in a desert setting that was designed specifically to prepare troops for the challenges they’ll face in Iraq and instead will end their training without going through any desert drills.

Nice… nothing like on the job training that could kill…

The other example is the fact that close to 90% of Army National Guard Units are rated “not ready” because of shortfalls in billions of dollars worth of equipment. Thus jeopardizing their ability to respond to crises at home and abroad.

Why don’t they have the equipment? Because Bush has the military so-thinned out, that the supplies and equipment can’t be made, ordered, shipped quick enough… and this has been going on since the war started; witnessed by accounts of soldiers not having the proper equipment (body armor, socks, etc) who then have to result to either buying the gear themselves or relying on people at home to send it to them. Or the widely known item that a lot of the military vehicles being used don’t have the proper armor plating installed.

And yet it’s Liberals who don’t support and care for our troops… how incredibly inane is that sentiment?

This administration has often shown its discourse for the people in the military… they don’t mind using it to erase past mistakes of daddy… but they don’t dare support or help the troops themselves.

And it’s not like I’m being facitous, there’s plenty of evidence to support this; witness the deplorable conditions at Walter Reed… or the Bush(whacked) Administration not allowing a disabled Vet appear at a White House media function because they didn’t want the media to see his legs had been blown off in Iraq.

And yet it’s Liberals who don’t support and care for our troops because we want to get them out of Iraq…

The media needs to stop feeding the beast that Liberals are against the troops and conservatives are for them…

It’s the exact opposite…

Thank You Ms. Rice

“And the final thing I want to say is I know that a lot’s going on in Washington and that you’re hearing it. A lot’s going on because we are a great democracy. And people have their views and they’re going to express them. And some do not think that this was the right war to fight, and others think that we in the Administration haven’t fought this war quite right. By the way, all of them know that the sacrifice and the labor of our men and women here has been honorable. And so when you hear the criticism of the war or the criticism of the President or of me or of anybody else, I do want you to know that to a person at home, your honor and your sacrifice and your labor is appreciated. People know what you’re doing and it’s appreciated across the board. I don’t care what people think of the policies; it’s appreciated across the board.”

-Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice,during a speech to a gathering of military personnel during her surprise visit this past weekend to Baghdad


Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t this quote contridict every damn thing the White House had been saying for days weeks months???

I believe it does.

In fact… I seem to remember this administration oftentimes saying that a debate on Iraq policy would be “detrimental from the standpoint of the troops” and would hurt morale…

Apparently Condi never received that memo… meaning that she’s in for a toungue bath lashing from Dubya…

And while we’re on the subject of missing memos, it should also be noted that Ms. Rice’s statement echos those of Joint Chiefs Chairman General Peter Pace, who has gone on record as saying that all U.S. troops understand that the debate is being carried out by “patriotic people who care about them and who care about their mission.”

If these two believe that… than what the hell is the problem with the rest of this administration?

Maybe the reason the administration doesn’t think someone can think two things at once is because they’re taking their cues from a man who can’t walk and chew gum at the same time, much less have two thoughts in his head at one time.

If only Bush could buy himself a clue…