Congress authorizes war funds and sends bill to Bush
Fri Dec 14, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-led Congress authorized more Iraq war spending on Friday, sending President George W. Bush a defense bill requiring no change in strategy after failing again to impose a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawals.
The defense policy bill, approved 90-3 by the U.S. Senate, also expanded the size of the U.S. Army and set conditions on the Bush administration's plan to build a missile defense system in Europe.
The measure already had passed the House of Representatives and now goes to Bush, who is expected to sign it into law. It authorizes Pentagon programs expected to cost $506.9 billion during fiscal 2008, which began in October.
The bill authorized another $189.4 billion for the Iraq and Afghan wars, for which Congress has already approved some $600 billion. But it does not deliver the new money. That is done by appropriations legislation at the center of a big dispute on Capitol Hill.
Democratic efforts to amend the defense policy legislation to change course in Iraq passed the House of Representatives but failed several times this year in the narrowly divided Senate.
Republicans, who used procedural rules to block the pullout plans each time they came up, were happy with the result.
"I was pleased to see ... no policy changes to the Petraeus plan," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, referring to U.S. Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus whose plan for a temporary boost in U.S. troops in Iraq has been credited with reducing violence.
"The effort (to change course in Iraq) is not over," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, said after the vote. But he did not know what the next step in that struggle would be.
Senate Republicans are expected to try next week to appropriate $70 billion to fund the war until well into next year. The Pentagon has said the Army will run out of cash for the war in mid-February.
The defense policy legislation expands the Army by 13,000 soldiers to 525,400 in 2008. It also provides 25,000 more U.S. immigrant visas over five years for Iraqis who worked for the United States and whose lives are now in danger.
The legislation placed conditions on Bush's plan to build a missile defense system in Europe. It stipulates that Poland and the Czech Republic must give "final approval" -- which Levin says means parliamentary approval -- to any deal before the project can go ahead.
It also bars funds from being spent on the missile shield until the secretary of defense certifies to Congress that the system would actually work. The White House wants to build the missile shield to counter what it has described as a possible threat from a "rogue state" like Iran.
The bill lays out a road map of military priorities, and directs weapons acquisition programs. Legislators earlier removed some provisions of the bill that Bush had objected to, including a nonmilitary measure to expand protections against hate crimes in the United States.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said it was important to speed the military's growth without letting recruiting standards slip. Presently, he said, "We're taking people into the military that we never dreamed of taking in a few years ago," including some with criminal records.
The legislation includes a 3.5 percent pay raise for the military. In response to complaints, it enhances veterans' health care, expanding treatment for brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, and assuring speedy mental health evaluations.
Not voting: Biden, Boxer, Clinton, Dodd, McCain, Obama, Inoue
Nays: Feingold, Byrd, Sanders
Re: Congress authorizes war funds and sends bill to Bush
I wish Levin would just shut his mouth, I have had enough of him.....
Not surprising to see Byrd on the nay list... A bit surprised McCain didn't vote.
Re: Congress authorizes war funds and sends bill to Bush
Quote:
Originally Posted by article
sending President George W. Bush a defense bill requiring no change in strategy after failing again to impose a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawals.
No bias in that sentence at all. :roll:
Re: Congress authorizes war funds and sends bill to Bush
Why doesn't Europe, and the European taxpayer, build its own missile defense shield?
Maybe the Russians will build a missile defense shield in Cuba to protect us from Venezuela.
Tom
Re: Congress authorizes war funds and sends bill to Bush
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom_Turner
Why doesn't Europe, and the European taxpayer, build its own missile defense shield?
Maybe the Russians will build a missile defense shield in Cuba to protect us from Venezuela.
Tom
You know Tom that's a great point. Why are stuck to foot the bill to protect Europe? I think its time they can stand on their own. As for Russia building a defense shield I think that would amount to giving the peasants a steel shield and saying "Hold this up when the missiles arrive."
Re: Congress authorizes war funds and sends bill to Bush
As I understand, the missile shield is not to protect Europe. It's to protect the US from missiles inbound to us, that are fired from the Middle East or nations that are in Eastern Europe/North Asia/that drink vodka.
Re: Congress authorizes war funds and sends bill to Bush
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom_Turner
Why doesn't Europe, and the European taxpayer, build its own missile defense shield?
Maybe the Russians will build a missile defense shield in Cuba to protect us from Venezuela.
Tom
Why do we still bases in Japan & Germany? WWII was over 50 years ago.
Why do we still have a base in South Korea?
Why do we have bases in Kuwait?
Some answers are political, other answers are self interest....
Re: Congress authorizes war funds and sends bill to Bush
We have bases the world for OUR positioning, not for those other countries that they are in.
We'd have a very difficult time staging armies around the world without the bases that we have around the globe.
Re: Congress authorizes war funds and sends bill to Bush
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil D.
We have bases the world for OUR positioning, not for those other countries that they are in.
We'd have a very difficult time staging armies around the world without the bases that we have around the globe.
Sometimes, it is a little more involved than that.
We are in North Korea to ensure that North Korea does not invade South Korea. The Korea War never actually ended. (Political reason)
We are in Japan at the invitation of Japan (Japan reimburses the US Government for some of the bases) & to relax the concerns of the Asian Countries (China, PI, Korea, etc) that Japan will not strengthen its military & become a world power again - (Political reason)
And yes, some of the bases are used to stage armies around the world.
There was word that we were going to start phasing out troops out of Germany & the German Gov went nuts. Some of the Japanese people want the troops out of Japan, but, some of the people are making a living out of us stationed there.....
Re: Congress authorizes war funds and sends bill to Bush
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil D.
As I understand, the missile shield is not to protect Europe. It's to protect the US from missiles inbound to us, that are fired from the Middle East or nations that are in Eastern Europe/North Asia/that drink vodka.
Phil from my reading I interrupted that those sites are intended to protect our allies in Europe as a missile launched at the U.S from Iran would not take a path over Europe on its way to the U.S but due north over the Polar Ice cap. We have stations (or will) in Northern Canada, Alaska, and on both coasts for our own protection.
