Reid may move to cut Iraq war funds

[Lord Dinar]

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record) said Monday he will try to cut off funding for the Iraq war if President Bush rejects Congress' proposal to set a deadline for ending combat.


The move is likely to intensify the Democrats' rift with the administration, which already contends Democrats are putting troops at risk by setting deadlines.

"It's time the self-appointed strategists on Capitol Hill understood a very simple concept: You cannot win a war if you tell the enemy you're going to quit," Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday at fundraising luncheon for Sen. Jeff Sessions.

Also Monday, President Bush conferred by secure videoconference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on the pace of a nearly seven-week-old security crackdown. Extra troops from both countries are aiming to calm Baghdad and troubled Anbar Province, and some initial improvement has been reported.

Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for Bush's National Security Council, said the leaders agreed that the effort "must be carried out until lasting success can be achieved." Al-Maliki repeated his promise to pass legislation seen as key to moving Sunnis and Shiites from battling each other to political compromise.

Bush and al-Maliki also discussed plans for an expanded follow-up to last month's international conference on Iraq in Baghdad. Iraqi officials had wanted the next meeting, to include foreign ministers of participating nations this time, to be held in Baghdad again though it had been tentatively planned for Istanbul in April. The timing and location are unclear.

In recent weeks, the House and Senate voted separately to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but set an end date for combat in Iraq. The House proposal orders all combat troops as of Aug. 31, 2008, whereas the Senate orders some troops to leave right away with the nonbinding goal of ending combat by March 31, 2008.

The House and Senate are working on a final proposal that can be sent to the president by the end of the month.

Bush has said several times he would veto the measure, and Republicans say they'll back him. On Monday, 154 House Republicans sent Bush a letter promising to stick with him in opposition to the legislation.

Mindful that they hold a shaky majority in Congress and that neither chamber has enough votes to override a presidential veto, Democrats are already thinking about the next step after Bush rejects their legislation.

Reid said Monday that if that happens, he will join forces with Sen. Russ Feingold (news, bio, voting record), one of the party's most liberal members who has long called to end the war by denying funding for it. Reid and others have previously been reluctant to propose cutting funding out of fear it would leave troops in the lurch.

"Congress has a responsibility to end a war that is opposed by the American people and is undermining our national security," Feingold, D-Wis., said.

Reid said Monday he was willing to take the tougher tack in light of Bush's refusal to begin pulling out troops.

"If the president vetoes the supplemental appropriations bill and continues to resist changing course in Iraq, I will work to ensure this legislation receives a vote in the Senate in the next work period," Reid said in a statement.

The White House and congressional Democrats had promised in January to work together when Democrats took over control of Congress. Since then, however, the two sides have found little agreement when it comes to the war. They traded barbs over the weekend and on Monday, when the White House said Democrats were denying the military what it needed to do its job.

"It appears they're still content to work on a bill that does not have serious plans to fund troops or make Iraq, America and the world more secure, but rather attempts at forcing us into giving up in Iraq without regard to the consequences of failure," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

Reid's proposal is unlikely to pass. But Democrats say they believe with each passing week — as the violence in Iraq continues and voters grow increasingly tired of the war — they pick up additional support.

The Senate last week passed its anti-war proposal by a 50-48 vote after winning support from Sens. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record), R-Neb., and Ben Nelson, who just two weeks prior had opposed a similar measure.

Reid spokesman Jim Manley said if legislation to cut off funding for the war fails, Reid will try again with the hopes of getting new supporters. "It is the next in a series of steps to try to ratchet up the pressure to try to get the administration to change its policies," he said.

The bill to cut off funds for the war would likely be introduced as standalone legislation and would not be tied to the supplemental spending bill, Manley said.


Source:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070402/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq

:(

[PegBundy]

i really want to say something but i cant here. Harry Reid is the biggest vaj that I have ever seen.

[jram_00]

Can you say...


SABOTAGE:crying: :mad: :no:

[williambedloe]

Go for it Dingy Harry...I double dog dare ya!!

He won't do it...if they cut off funding, and there is another terrorist attack or Iraq completely disintegrates, the Dems are done...these are idle threats, done to a) see if Bush will flinch and b) placate the loonies on the far left.

Too obvious

[KnightsCharger]

Harry hails from Searchlight, Nevada. Ever been to Searchlight???:lmao:

[GraceTheDinar]

Someone tell me where the ringleader of 9-11 and the USS Cole attack was from? Because Bin-Laden was not from Iraq.

[tmorr37]

Go for it Dingy Harry...I double dog dare ya!!

He won't do it...if they cut off funding, and there is another terrorist attack or Iraq completely disintegrates, the Dems are done...these are idle threats, done to a) see if Bush will flinch and b) placate the loonies on the far left.

Too obvious

If we are attacked it will not be reported as an Iraq issue.
If Iraq falls it to will go much unreported.

The Dems and Media are one and the same working against America.
They just don't see it that way.

The day such a law passes is the day I sell every dinar I have. It will be worthless.
Fighting will intensify and the CBI and Gov will fall.
It will be the beginning of the dark days of the USA as Iran and extreme Muslims align against us in a global conflict. Europe will fall they have millions of Muslims.

[tmorr37]

Someone tell me where the ringleader of 9-11 and the USS Cole attack was from? Because Bin-Laden was not from Iraq.

You have little understanding of the situation.

[KnightsCharger]

Someone tell me where the ringleader of 9-11 and the USS Cole attack was from? Because Bin-Laden was not from Iraq.

What does it matter!, Are you comparing those 2, too Dingy Harry?

Do you listen to "The View" as well as CNN? :drunk:

[GraceTheDinar]

No, but you guys are says Iraq is going to come terrorize us, I'm just wondering when they ever did? I'm more concerned for the ones that were under Bin-Laden that are not in any way attached to Iraq. I have as much understanding of the situation as the next, I've been next to the troops out there who have said... "explain to me why we are going after Saddam when Bin-Laden was the one pulling the strings?" Iraq is just where the issue is for the moment, but Iran is just as likely to do something ignorant as anyone else. I can only shrug if you want to be upset with me because of this. If you think Iraq is the only threat you are off the mark.

[KnightsCharger]

If we are attacked it will not be reported as an Iraq issue.
If Iraq falls it to will go much unreported.

The Dems and Media are one and the same working against America.
They just don't see it that way.

The day such a law passes is the day I sell every dinar I have. It will be worthless.
Fighting will intensify and the CBI and Gov will fall.
It will be the beginning of the dark days of the USA as Iran and extreme Muslims align against us in a global conflict. Europe will fall they have millions of Muslims.

Could be rough for the US, but I think things will "brighten up":eek: in Iran.

The USS Nimitz, left port for the Persian Gulf today, 2+1=3 battle groups.

[Jeffro]

No, but you guys are says Iraq is going to come terrorize us, I'm just wondering when they ever did? I'm more concerned for the ones that were under Bin-Laden that are not in any way attached to Iraq. I have as much understanding of the situation as the next, I've been next to the troops out there who have said... "explain to me why we are going after Saddam when Bin-Laden was the one pulling the strings?" Iraq is just where the issue is for the moment, but Iran is just as likely to do something ignorant as anyone else. I can only shrug if you want to be upset with me because of this. If you think Iraq is the only threat you are off the mark.


Iran has already done the same ignorant thing that Saddam did...they started selling oil to China in euros, not petro-dollars.

[KnightsCharger]

No, but you guys are says Iraq is going to come terrorize us, I'm just wondering when they ever did? I'm more concerned for the ones that were under Bin-Laden that are not in any way attached to Iraq. I have as much understanding of the situation as the next, I've been next to the troops out there who have said... "explain to me why we are going after Saddam when Bin-Laden was the one pulling the strings?" Iraq is just where the issue is for the moment, but Iran is just as likely to do something ignorant as anyone else. I can only shrug if you want to be upset with me because of this. If you think Iraq is the only threat you are off the mark.

Did you Know there were allied plans to assasinate Hitler! The allies didn't follow through, because it was believed that he would make all the wrong moves and wreck any chance of a German victory and he did, You don't eliminate your enemy when he's doing such a good job of destroying himself and his goals. Politicians don't do war, thats why God created Generals!!! We can't martyr Bin-Laden, It would be detrimental to the war effort!! Think!!!!!

[williambedloe]

No, but you guys are says Iraq is going to come terrorize us, I'm just wondering when they ever did? I'm more concerned for the ones that were under Bin-Laden that are not in any way attached to Iraq. I have as much understanding of the situation as the next, I've been next to the troops out there who have said... "explain to me why we are going after Saddam when Bin-Laden was the one pulling the strings?" Iraq is just where the issue is for the moment, but Iran is just as likely to do something ignorant as anyone else. I can only shrug if you want to be upset with me because of this. If you think Iraq is the only threat you are off the mark.

What are you talking about? Rehash of old news? No Bin Laden Link to Saddam? We are talking about terrorists (many foreign born and loyal to Bin Laden and others loyal to Iran) who are in Iraq RIGHT NOW causing death and destruction...if they cut funds, we will have to run...can't keep troops in harms way with no funds...they declare victory and Iraq becomes ground zero for a re-energized Jihad against the West...with no troops, Iran flexes its muscle, and Sunnis in Iraq are executed...this "civil war" will put the imaginary one that you and your cronies on CNN believe is ongoing now to shame...and who will they blame? The US and UK for leaving.

Threatening to cut funds is a political gambit...they are trying to force Bush's hand into a decision he doesn't want to make...if they can convince a couple of politically motivated Repubs along the way, even better...it is politically motivated because before they were in power, they did not tell the American people that this was the course they were taking. They told the people that they would run the war better...better training for Iraqi forces, more personnel on the ground, blah, blah blah...only the Murthas of this world said they'd pull out, and he represents their true beliefs...cut your losses and run...if only they had not hamstrung the forces with political bs, the troops would have mopped up ages ago and we might actually have been talking endgame at this point.

Tell me this...what is Dem plan for keeping Iran out of Iraq? The UN? There IS NO PLAN!! They are talking about moving out, but what about after? NO DISCUSSION!! ZIP!!

As I stated before, Dems don't have the stones to pull the money...they want Bush (who for some inexplicable reason has actually entertained their opinions) to pull the trigger himself, and if he does, it's over for the Repubs...pure political BS...

[DealOrBuyDinar]

No, but you guys are says Iraq is going to come terrorize us, I'm just wondering when they ever did? I'm more concerned for the ones that were under Bin-Laden that are not in any way attached to Iraq. I have as much understanding of the situation as the next, I've been next to the troops out there who have said... "explain to me why we are going after Saddam when Bin-Laden was the one pulling the strings?" Iraq is just where the issue is for the moment, but Iran is just as likely to do something ignorant as anyone else. I can only shrug if you want to be upset with me because of this. If you think Iraq is the only threat you are off the mark.

Gracie,

think bigger and WAKE UP! This is much more global than the press would lead you to believe. Anyone who says that we get to "walk away" from this war is either working for the liberal press or they're running for re-election on a Democratic ticket. Don't believe it. Have a read below:


The Coming Armageddon: Conversation on the Beach
By Solly Ganor
March 10, 2007

Five years ago I sent you a letter, which I called Conversation on the
Beach. In my letter I described my conversation with a young Palestinian
student who in short precise terms explained how Islam will defeat the
West. The conversation opened my eyes to a much larger picture in which
Israel plays only a minor role in the Islamic game of conquest. Since
then I tried to speak to some Arabs who come to pray at the Mosque, but
they were not as outspoken as the student.

Last week I had another conversation with an Israeli Arab construction
boss by the unlikely name of Francis who was in charge of building a
villa near our house in Herzelia. He told me that his family was
Christian and his name was given to him in honor of the Franciscan
monks. Our conversation was as interesting as the first conversation I
had with the Arab student five years ago and I would like to share it
with you.
Francis frequently parked his car near our house and we would exchange
polite greetings. About a week ago the water was shut off for repairs in
the house he was building and Francis asked me if I could give him some
hot water for his coffee. He was a tall man of about forty, with reddish
hair and blue eyes. He spoke a perfect Hebrew and I, naturally became
curious about him. I felt that he may the right person to exchange some
views with. By his looks I assumed that he was either a Druze or from
the Syrian region. He looked more like a teacher than a construction
worker and as I later found out, he was actually a teacher by
profession.

Since my conversation with the student five years ago I was always
curious to hear their side of the story, therefore I decided to invite
him for a cup of coffee to our house. I saw him hesitate for a moment
then he smiled and thanked me for my hospitality.

While we drank our coffee he told me that he was from a small village in
the Galilee called Jish, near the present Kibbutz Sassa. I remembered
the village very well as I was one of the soldiers who captured the
village while serving in the 7th Armored brigade during the war of
Independence in 1948. I decided not to tell him about it because at the
time we encountered some stiff resistance at that village and quite a
few of the inhabitants were killed.

While I was preparing the coffee he told me a little about himself. "For
a while I was a teacher and I loved teaching, but I couldn't make a
living at it and I decided to join my father-in-law who is in the
construction business." Judging by the large Honda he was driving I
figured that he didn't do too badly changing his profession.

Our conversation soon turned to the present situation in the Middle
East, about Hamas winning the elections, the situation of the Israeli
Arabs, and the last Lebanese war against Hezbolla. "As Christians we are
in a difficult situation here in Israel. Unfortunately, the Moslems and
especially the extreme Islamist section, are giving the tone here. My
family who lived in Bethlehem probably since the Crusaders, had to flee
for their life. The Moslems have been forcing us out, by threats and
even murder. Bethlehem that was once predominantly Christian is now
predominantly Moslem. Very little is written about it even in the
Israeli press." He sipped his coffee and gave me a long look. He seemed
like someone who wasn't quite sure whether to say what he was about to
say. I gave him an encouraging nod.

"I have to tell you something which very few of you seem to comprehend."
He continued. "Your bungling war against a few thousand Hezbollah
fighters which you should have crushed no matter what, considering the
importance of the outcome, has created a completely new situation, not
only for this area, but globally. Your inept leadership totally
misunderstood the importance of winning this war. As a matter of fact,
the whole Moslem world, not only the Arabs, simply couldn't believe that
the mighty Israeli Army that defeated the combined Arab forces in six
days in 1967, and almost captured Cairo and Damascus in 1973, couldn't
defeat a small army of Hezbollah men."

"As usual the Moslems see things the way they want to see things. Most
think that the present generation of Israelis have gone soft and can be
defeated. The American bungling of the war in Iraq only added to their
conviction that victory not only over Israel but also over the West is
not only possible, but certain."

"The ramifications of these two bungling wars may bring an Islamic
bloody Tsunami all over the West, not only in Israel. The sharks smell
blood and these two wars gave them the green light to attack sooner than
they had in mind. Your problem is that you are on the defensive and they
have the option to choose the time and the places when and where to
attack and there is nothing much you can do about it. When will you
Westerners realize that half measures don't work with people who are
willing to die by the thousands for Allah to achieve their goal? In
their eyes the Western World is simply an abomination on earth that has
to be wiped out."

He spoke quietly and I could just picture him in the school giving his
students a lecture. I poured him another cup of coffee and encouraged
him to continue.

"The Americans, the Europeans, and even you Israelis really don't really
know what it is all about, do you? During the last generation hundreds
of thousands of children have been taught all over the Moslem world in
Madrass schools to become martyrs for Allah in order to kill the
infidels. These youngsters are not only ready to do it, but are actually
in the process of doing it. Bombs are going off all over the world
killing and maiming thousands of people, not only on 9/11 in the US, in
London Madrid and Bali, but Africa, India, Bengla Dash, Egypt, Saudi
Arabia and countless other places."

"The first signs of the Islamic Tsunami is already here, but the West
doesn't understand, or doesn't want to understand what is coming. The
Americans, instead of realizing that this is as bad as World War Two, or
even worse, are going to pull out of Iraq, handing it over to Iran on a
silver platter. Next may come the Saudis and the rest of the Gulf
States."

"When dirty bombs will go off all over the Western towns, who is going
to stop the Iranians? Now is the time to stop them, not only because
they are developing nuclear bombs, but because Iran has become the base
for all Islamic terrorist. They supply money, men and weapons to Islamic
terrorist around the world, quite often through their diplomatic mail.
Billions of petro-dollars that are pouring into Iran are being funneled
into terrorist organizations worldwide. They believe, and perhaps
rightly so, that the West will do nothing to stop them from achieving
their goals. Is history repeating itself? Are the Iranians making the
same mistake that Hitler made when he attacked Poland? Is the situation
similar?"
"As a history teacher who studied the subject thoroughly I can tell you
that Western victory in World War Two was not all certain. Hitler could
have won the war if he would have gone ahead with the atomic bomb
development before the Americans. The Germans began working on it in the thirties, and it was Hitler's decision to prefer building more
conventional arms, as he considered atomic weapons sheer fantasy. Hitler
made the wrong decision, but had he made the right decision the world
would have been a different type of world today, wouldn't it? The West
won the war against Hitler by sheer chance. Very few people seem to
realize that."

I must say that his last words shook me up quite a bit. Had Hitler made
a different decision, I would have died in Dachau, there wouldn't have
been a Jewish state called Israel, and most likely there wouldn't have
been any Jews left in the world. The idea that the Western democracies
in general, and the fate of the Jewish people in particular, could have
hinged on Hitler's one decision is a scenario of the worst nightmare.

He notices that his last words had an effect on me and he smiled. "I see
that my words are not wasted on you," He said dryly. I nodded and he
continued with his lecture. "Coming back to our time, the Iranians rely
on the West doing nothing about their development of nuclear bombs. They
also rely on their secret weapon: An inexhaustible supply of Islamic
Suicide Bombers, some of them who are already planted all over the
Western World."

"Besides the Islamic countries that supply these suicide bombers, a
second front has been opened, and that is the Internet with more than
five thousand Islamic web sites, brain washing and urging young Moslems
to become martyrs for Allah. They especially target young Moslems who
live in Europe and the West in general. The Western intelligence
authorities consider these web sites a bigger threat than the Iranian
atomic bomb.

Al-Qaida recently issued a television broadcast that promised a
devastating attack against its enemies this spring. As we all know,
Al-Qaida doesn't make empty threats."

"Actually, I don't understand why the Iranians bother to develop atom
bombs and bring the whole world down on them. Every suicide bomber is a
potential atom bomb, or a biological, chemical or dirty bomb that can be
no less devastating than an atom bomb. The Americans and Europeans have no defense against this type of war."

"What can we do against this type warfare?" I asked him. "Well, you
Israelis, should better prepare yourself for another round against
Hezbollah. It will be not long in coming. It depends on the Iranians to
give the word. This time you will have to destroy Hezbollah no matter
what the cost may be. Of course, your next round against Hezbollah may
involve the Syrians and the Iranians against you. The Iranians declared
that they will not allow Hezbollah to be defeated no matter what and may
launch their missiles against you. So will the Syrians. What will Israel
do? It is unlikely that Israel will accept its destruction and may use
their nuclear arsenal if the West will not come to their help. Perhaps
our Book of Revelations is not so wrong in describing that the end of
the world would start at Armageddon, which we know as Har-Megiddo in
Israel. The Book of Revelations describes the last battle would be
fought at Armageddon between the 'Forces of good and the forces of
evil.'" "And who would you call the forces of good? Israel or Islam?" I
asked, looking him straight in the eyes.

He gave me a startled look. "If I were a Moslem, I would have no problem
to name the forces of good and it wouldn't be Israel. As a Christian, I
would probably name Israel, but as a Christian Arab I would prefer not
to answer."

We looked at each other. His answer made it clear where the Israeli
Arabs stood, whether they were Moslems or Christians. And why should I
be surprised? After all The Israeli Arabs call the establishment of the
State of Israel their Nakbah. (Their disaster).

"Is there a way to avoid the 'Armageddon'?" I asked. "I think there are
two ways to avoid it. One can be a major war, which the West can win. As
in World War Two, had the West attacked the Germans in 1936 the war
would have lasted not more than a month with very few casualties. Their
procrastination resulted in World War II with all its consequences."

"Eventually, the West will have to tackle the Iranians. It is better
that they do it now to avert a world catastrophe later. With Iran
defeated the Islamic onslaught will lose its base, and it may be the
turning point in history to defeat the menace of extreme Islam. The
majority of the Moslems don't want this confrontation anyway."

"You are painting a rather dark picture. When do you think we will have
the next round against Hezbollah?" I asked.

"I think they will attack again as soon as they are fully re-equipped
and I think it will be during the summer, while Israel is still in a
military and political turmoil."

For a while we sat in silence. He finished his second cup of coffee and
got up. "I know what I am going to do. I am going to Canada to join my
brother. This country is becoming much too dangerous for Christians as
well, he said. He thanked me for the coffee and we shook hands."

"You said there are two ways to avoid 'Armageddon,'"" I remembered to
ask him. "Sure, all the West has to do is follow Putin's ways. He
assassinates his enemies without blinking an eye. Assassinate the four
or five Mullahs who run the show, Achmenijad, and a few more Iranian
fanatics, and the War can be avoided. It may be difficult to do, but not
impossible. With today's hi-tech technology I am sure that new weapons
against individuals are being prepared right now. I think it would be a
better way of handling the matter than an all out war against Islam."

The conversation with Francis was not more encouraging than the one I
had with the Palestinian student five years ago. It was becoming clear
that Israel may be on the forefront for the coming war of the West
against Islam, unless we follow Francis' suggestion to assassinate the
heads of the snake, rather than going to war with Islam.

[DealOrBuyDinar]

Did you Know there were allied plans to assasinate Hitler! The allies didn't follow through, because it was believed that he would make all the wrong moves and wreck any chance of a German victory and he did, You don't eliminate your enemy when he's doing such a good job of destroying himself and his goals. Politicians don't do war, thats why God created Generals!!! We can't martyr Bin-Laden, It would be detrimental to the war effort!! Think!!!!!

Did you also know Gracie that the Allies, in part, won WWII by chance? It's true, in the mid to late 1930's Hitler diverted funding from the development of Germany's atomic bomb to fund more conventional weapons. Hitler thought it was more fantasy than reality. The Germans tried to play catch up later and were only months behind the US in having the first atomic bomb. Had they gotten it first, we would not have won that war and the world would be a very different place today.

Now think about this: If we leave Iraq, Iran and Syria rush in to take over. Saudi Arabia begins funding and supporting the Sunni population along with Jordan. Hezbollah and Palestine attack Israel because the opportunity is rip which draws the US and the Western Europeans back into the conflict that is now much much larger. And don't assume that we will win. Iran isn't pre-WWII Germany. They already ARE developing nuclear weapons.

Wake up... The sad reality is that the treasonous Democrats are willing to lose this war at an cost if it means they can win the next election. And if that's not they're actual motive, than they are simply not in touch with reality.

[tmorr37]

The Dems are here to help

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070403/capt.xhm10204031738.mideast_syria_us_pelosi_xhm102 .jpg

[williambedloe]

Better search her before they let her into the White House...she may have gotten some training by the local militants:lmao:

[oldskiier]

The Dems are here to help




http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070403/capt.xhm10204031738.mideast_syria_us_pelosi_xhm102 .jpg



"Reid may move"..........Best news I've heard yet !!!!!!~

Love the PIC !!! what a "whistle Dick" !!!!! maybe they will take her as a hostage !!! :happy64: