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your state department guide to international law..., 2007-01-03 15:15:56 | Main | your press guide to reporting that 'he must know something that I don't know'..., 2007-01-03 17:16:10 your pentagon guide to supporting the troops: " Lockheed Martin Corp.'s new Joint Strike Fighter plane won't be ready to see action for years. But that didn't stop the Air Force from inserting two of the jets into the coming emergency-funding request for operations in Iraq." It goes on like that. Much of the $99.7 billion GWOT supplemental spending is being redirected from the immediate needs of the troops on the ground to fancy gadgets for the brass. Dean Baker explains further in this vein: The latest version of the "hide behind the troops" mode of argument is to claim that Congress lacks the ability to end the war. The story goes that President Bush is commander in chief of the armed forces, and that if he does not want to end the war, then Congress cannot force his hand. According to this argument, if Congress were to use its control of the budget to restrict funding, it would jeopardize our troops stationed in Iraq by denying them the supplies and ammunition needed to defend themselves. This argument is garbage. Congress has the authority to require the top military commanders in Iraq to produce a plan for safely withdrawing our troops from the country. It can also require these commanders to give their best estimate of the cost of this plan. It can then appropriate this money, specifying that the funds be used for the withdrawal plan designed by the military. President Bush would then have the funding required to safely withdraw our troops from Iraq. He would not have the money to continue his war. If he chose to defy Congress by misusing the funds (and thereby jeopardizing the lives of our troops), then the law provides a simple and obvious remedy: Impeachment. :: posted by buermann @ 2007-01-03 15:49:36 CST | link Comments: Haven't we come a long way in two hundred years? When George Washington was in command of the Continental Army, he ALWAYS had to go groveling to Congress for everything from bullets to blankets for his soldiers. Most of the time, Congress told him they didn't have any money...quit whining...and suck it up. Now, it's blank check time...let's see how much crap we can cram into a little bag so we can take it to the cashier and get our 20 percent off. And who cares if you are stuffing an aircraft carrier or a fighter jet into your bag? It's all in the name of the cause, right? El presidente isn't afraid of Congress. OK, fine...but it's always mystified me as to why Congress seems to fear the president. Especially this president. Really, the constitution seems to say it's Congress that gets to make the law of the land. So why treat El Pres with kid gloves? If only someone in Congress, or ANYWHERE, had the juevos to tell him that there's more to being Commander in Chief than wearing the Members Only jacket with the Presidential patch. And impeach him?? Sure, I suppose...but it seems to me that only thing that gets anyone excited in D.C. is an improper act with an intern. What's a few billion dollars in misappropiated funds among friends? posted by leahaz @ 2007-01-03 21:33:29 | link If he chose to defy Congress by misusing the funds ... In fact, Bush already did this once. Between December 2001 and February 2002 he redirected millions of dollars appropriated for the Afghan war to preparations for the Iraq invasion. (He also redirected a lot of personnel and equipment, but that's not quite as cut-and-dried illegal and impeachable.) posted by Nell @ 2007-01-05 01:37:45 | link go ahead, express that vague notion Name: Email: Homepage: Comment your turing test: