Some Republican senators are calling “for Iraqi forces to take the lead next year in securing the nation and for the Bush administration to lay out its strategy for ending the war.” WHAT!?!
WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 - In a sign of increasing unease among Congressional Republicans over the war in Iraq, the Senate is to consider on Tuesday a Republican proposal that calls for Iraqi forces to take the lead next year in securing the nation and for the Bush administration to lay out its strategy for ending the war.
The Senate is also scheduled to vote Tuesday on a compromise, announced Monday night, that would allow terror detainees some access to federal courts. The Senate had voted last week to prohibit those being held from challenging their detentions in federal court, despite a Supreme Court ruling to the contrary.
Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who is the author of the initial plan, said Monday that he had negotiated a compromise that would allow detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to challenge their designation as enemy combatants in federal courts and also allow automatic appeals of any convictions handed down by the military where detainees receive prison terms of 10 years or more or a death sentence.
Well, it just doesn’t get any stupider than that. Why do we need legislation to tell the Iraqis what to do? Bush laying out the stragety is just retarted anyway. I mean, sure, a general overview is nice and has been given time and time again without much notice from those who should take notice.
It seems like congress is all about letting our enemy get one up on us. You don’t tell your enemy what your plans are in a war, that’s just how it works. Do they expect our enemy not to act on this information? “Now, we’re going to set a withdrawl strategy, but you can’t use this information against us.” I don’t think that’ll work, though they may believe that’s how it’ll work. Since when are our senators flat out pussies willing to cop-out so easily? And those detainees are not american citizens. They should not be allowed access to our federal court system. They should be held until it’s proven they hold no threat the the U.S. and our allies. We’re at war, this isn’t a fucking game of candyland.
Scott at ScrappleFace feels basically the same way. Zarqawi is gonna be happy about this! Scott is right, I mean, we might as well ask for Zarqawi’s input on this. While we’re at it we should probably just let the paris riots continue un-hindered. What do we gotta lose?
Others blogging include Michelle Malkin, Right Wing Nuthouse and Hugh Hewitt. Donklephant says this is a good thing, basically how Kerry said he would have handled the situation, minus the U.N. and quarterly senate reports. I’m all for letting the Iraqi citizens take total control of their country, just not yet. We have to make sure they’re 100% ready or we’ll be right back in the same place we were 5 years ago. We’ve started down this line and we need to follow through, there’s no going back.
UPDATE: Looks like Bush won’t be forced to divulge future war plans. Instead, 2006 “should be a period of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty.” From the AP via Yahoo News:
On the question of a timetable for troop withdrawal, senators rejected the Democrats’ proposal by 58-40. Democratic leaders had advanced the measure in the wake of declining public support for a conflict that has claimed more than 2,000 U.S. lives and cost more than $200 billion.
Republicans countered with their own nonbinding alternative that the Senate approved on a 79-19 vote. Five Democrats sided with the majority party.
Instead of calling for a withdrawal timetable, the GOP provision urged that 2006 “should be a period of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty,” with Iraqi forces taking the lead in providing security to create the conditions for the phased redeployment of United States forces.
Popularity: 4% [?]
