The above is the opening to Nicholas Johnston and James Rowley's "U.S. House Leaders, Bush Agree on $165 Billion For Iraq War" (Bloomberg News). In the November 2006 elections, control of both houses of Congress were turned over to the Democrats. Since taking that control in January 2007, nothing. Zilch. They were going to end the illegal war. They did nothing.
All the Democratic 'leadership' has done is create a back-and-forth over funding the illegal war. It has not stopped funding it. It indicates it will or might. Then it goes ahead and does it anyway. So you get some griping before American tax payer moneys are handed over and that's really all you get for handing control of both houses over to the Democrats.
What they get? They get to claim they want the Iraq War over. If they wanted it over, they don't need Bully Boy's permission. All they need to do is refuse to hand over anymore money for the war. They won't do that. They could filibuster. They won't do that.
What they will do is insist that if you let them have control of both houses AND give them the White House, maybe they can do something.
What?
They won't say. Barack loves making pretty speeches but he also loves explaining to the press that (a) his promises are just about "combat" troops and (b) his "promises" aren't promises and, if elected, he has no idea what he'd do. He'll decided when he gets to the White House. Here's Barack speaking to Candy Crowley June 5th on CNN :
Well, you know, I'd never say there's 'nothing' or 'never' or 'no way' in which I'd change my mind. Obviously, I'm open to the facts and to reason. And there's no doubt that we've seen significant improvements in security on the ground in Iraq. And our troops, and Gen. Petraeus, deserve enormous credit for that. I have to look at this issue from a broader perspective, though.
So the illegal war that the bulk of the people are against and want ended? Barack can't see it that way. He can throw out slogans to adoring crowds. But somehow Mr. Superior Judgment doesn't have the judgment capabilities to see -- from outside the White House -- that this illegal war needs to end immediately.
And why should he? The Iraq War is the biggest gift to the Democrats. They get to tut-tut in public and then do nothing. They get to insist voting for them means the illegal war will end but then they get what they wanted and do nothing.
So it's great for them to use as a get-out-the-vote tool. But there's no real effort to end the illegal war.
There were no conditions in Congress' gift to Bully Boy. There were no calls for withdrawal. It's nothing but a free gift. They carped a lot but then gave the White House just what it always wanted.
Somehow that's not sounding like a campaign slogan: "We won't end the war but we will bicker!"
Meanwhile, this is from Warren P. Strobel's "General who probed Abu Ghraib says Bush officials committed war crimes" (McClatchy Newspapers):
The Army general who led the investigation into prisoner abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison accused the Bush administration Wednesday of committing "war crimes" and called for those responsible to be held to account.
The remarks by Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who's now retired, came in a new report that found that U.S. personnel tortured and abused detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, using beatings, electrical shocks, sexual humiliation and other cruel practices.
"After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes," Taguba wrote. "The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account."
Below is a YouTube video from NOW on PBS' interview with Jonathan Norrell
The video is an excerpt of this NOW segment.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
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