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News :: Elections & Legislation : Government Secrecy : International Relations : Iraq : Regime : Right Wing |
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As 2,500th U.S. Serviceperson Dies in Iraq, House Leadership Thwarts Debate on Iraq War! |
Current rating: 0 |
by United for Peace and Justice
(No verified email address) |
16 Jun 2006
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Our local U.S Rep. Tim Johnson will no doubt waffle again on the war, making loud public noises about his discomfort with current policy in Iraq to try to co-opt enough of the center on the war to win the November election, while continuing to give unequivocal support to Bush's failed war when it comes time to vote on the floor. |
LOS ANGELES - June 15 - Today we learned that the death toll of US. servicepeople in Iraq has now reached 2,500. And today the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives used their control of the rules to block an open debate on alternatives to U.S. policy in Iraq. With a majority of the people of this country wishing to change course, the Republicans will only permit a pro-Bush resolution to be considered.
"The House leadership talks about democracy in Iraq, but won't allow it here," commented Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator of UFPJ. "Our young people keep dying in a senseless war, but our elected representatives are denying the public a chance to debate and change policy. The abuse of power is a travesty."
Under rules imposed by the House leadership, only 10 hours of debate will be allowed and members will not be allowed to offer or vote on amendments. The ploy will only allow a rubber stamp of the Bush administration policy in Iraq.
Last week, a broad coalition of peace groups, led by United for Peace and Justice and its member groups, participated in a national call-in day to Congress. Activists across the country called their Representatives to support H.Res.543, which mandates an open debate on Iraq, under rules which would allow all members to offer and vote on alternatives to the failed Bush policy in Iraq.
"The House leadership has responded to this call for meaningful dialogue with a familiar political ploy: hastily write a resolution long on political spin, but short on solutions and offer it up for a debate and vote. They did it last winter in response to Rep. Murtha (D-PA), who called for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, and they are doing it again now. It is nothing more than an offensive publicity stunt," said Cagan.
According to The Washington Post (6/9/06), Rep. Boehner, the House Majority Leader "told reporters ... that the House will consider some kind of resolution ... supporting the mission in Iraq, setting up a vote aimed at embarrassing anti-war Democrats."
The resolution relies on the Bush administration tactic of falsely equating the quagmire in Iraq with the greater "war on terrorism," emphasizing that terrorists "have called Iraq the central front in their war." It fails to say that the U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq are the primary reasons the country has become a breeding ground for terrorism. |
See also:
http://www.upj.org/
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EXCLUSIVE: Majority Leader Boehner’s Confidential Strategy Memo For Thursday’s Iraq Debate |
by via Cryptome
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Current rating: 0
16 Jun 2006
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http://thinkprogress.org/2006/06/14/boehner-memo/
EXCLUSIVE: Majority Leader Boehner’s Confidential Strategy Memo For Thursday’s Iraq Debate
Think Progress
June 14, 2006
On Thursday, the House of Representatives will hold a debate on the Iraq war. Media reports say Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) "hopes to match the serious, dignified tone of deliberation that preceded the Gulf war, in 1991."
ThinkProgress has obtained a "Confidential Messaging Memo" from Boehner instructing his caucus to conduct a very different kind of deliberation. Here’s a quick summary:
1. Exploit 9/11. The two page memo mentions 9/11 seven times. It describes debating Iraq in the context of 9/11 as "imperative."
2. Attack opponents ad hominem. The memo describes those who opposes President Bush’s policies in Iraq as "sheepish," "weak," and "prone to waver endlessly."
3. Create a false choice. The memo says the decision is between supporting President Bush’s policies and hoping terrorist threats will "fade away on their own."
You can read the confidential memo for yourself HERE :
http://www.thinkprogress.org/confidential-boehner-memo
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Confidential Messaging Memo – Floor Debate on Iraq and the Global War on Terror
To: House Republican Members
From: House Majority Leader John A. Boehner
Date: June 13, 2006
Re: Confidential Messaging Memo – Floor Debate on Iraq and the Global War on Terror
This week, the House of Representatives will engage in a debate about the war in Iraq, the Global War on Terror and our efforts to strengthen our national security in a post-9/11 world.
The past week has brought news of several important, positive developments in Iraq and the Global War on Terror:
– U.S. military forces eliminated the terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda’s top commander in Iraq and a cold-blooded killer.
– The Iraqi government named new interior, defense and security ministers as part of the new government’s continued progress.
– Just this morning, President George W. Bush traveled to Baghdad to meet the newly appointed Prime Minster of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki and to discuss our growing partnership with the new democratic ally.
Clearly, these positive developments are the result of steadfast support of both our military and diplomatic efforts in Iraq and across the globe. We should not refrain from touting such progress
During this debate, our Republican Conference should be focused on delivering these key points:
The Importance of Our Actions
It is imperative during this debate that we re-examine the conditions that required the United States to take military action in Afghanistan and Iraq in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The attacks we witnessed that day serve as a reminder of the dangers we face as a nation in a post-9/11 world. We can no longer expect oceans between us and our enemies to keep us safe. The plotting and planning taking place in terror camps protected by rogue regimes could no longer go unchecked or unchallenged. In a post-9/11 world, we could no longer allow despots and dictators like the Taliban and Saddam Hussein to ignore international sanctions and resolutions passed by the United Nations Security Council.
So, during this debate we must make clear to the American people that the United States had to take action in the best interests of the security of our nation and the world community. As Republicans who supported military action against Saddam Hussein and terrorists around the globe, the United States had to show our resolve as the world’s premier defender of freedom and liberty before such ideals were preyed upon, rather than after standing witness to their demise at the hands of our enemies.
As President John F. Kennedy once stated so eloquently:
“The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.”
A Portrait of Contrasts
This debate in the House of Representatives gives our Republican Conference the opportunity to present the American people our case for strong national security policies whose purpose is to protect the nation against another attack on our own soil.
Similarly, we must conduct this debate as a portrait of contrasts between Republicans and Democrats with regard to one of the most important political issues of our era. Articulating and advocating our core principles will allow the American public to witness Members of Congress debate a fundamental question facing America’s leaders:
In a post-9/11 world, do we confront dangerous regimes and the threat of terrorism with strength and resolve, or do we instead abandon our efforts against these threats in the hopes that they will just fade away on their own?
Republicans believe victory in Iraq will be an important blow to terrorism and the threat it poses around the world. Democrats, on the other hand, are prone to waver endlessly about the use of force to protect American ideals. Capitol Hill Democrats’ only specific policy proposals are to concede defeat on the battlefield and instead, merely manage the threat of terrorism and the danger it poses.
These are troubling policies to embrace in a post-9/11 world. During this debate, we need to clarify just how wrong the Democrats’ weak approach is and just how dangerous their implementation would be to both the short-term and long-term national security interests of the United States.
Resolve Will Triumph Over Retreat
As a result of our efforts during this debate, Americans will recognize that on the issue of national security, they have a clear choice between a Republican Party aware of the stakes and dedicated to victory, versus a Democrat Party without a coherent national security policy that sheepishly dismisses the challenges America faces in a post- 9/11 world.
Let there be no doubt that America and its allies in the war in Iraq and the Global War on Terrorism face difficult challenges. The American people are understandably concerned about our mission in a post-Saddam Iraq. There have been many tough days since Iraq’s liberation and transition to a sovereign democracy.
Democrats are all too eager to seize upon the challenges we face as their rationale or motivation for retreat. As Republicans, we understand the diplomatic and national security hazards of such a move. We must echo the American public’s understanding of just how great the stakes are in Iraq and our long-term efforts to win the War on Terrorism.
Building democracies in a part of the world that has known nothing but tyranny and despotism is a difficult task. But achieving victory there and gaining democratic allies in the region will be the best gift of security we can give to future generations of Americans.
View the original PDF of this memo HERE.
http://images1.americanprogress.org/il80web20037/ThinkProgress/2006/boehnermemo.pdf |
