Congress
Iraq roundup
Interesting tidbit today --- they're planning to cut combat tours from 15 to 12 months.
Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, told a Senate panel that the Army is under serious strain from years of war-fighting and must reduce the length of combat tours as soon as possible.
"The cumulative effects of the last six-plus years at war have left our Army out of balance, consumed by the current fight and unable to do the things we know we need to do to properly sustain our all-volunteer force and restore our flexibility for an uncertain future," Casey said.
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) Formally Calls for Impeachment Hearings
It's a great speech. After the jump, excerpts from an op-ed he co-published last month with two other members of the House Judiciary Committee, Reps Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).
Holy Veto Override, Batman!
Finally they're doing something about something.
Yesterday I was having lunch with some coworkers when one read this off his cell phone. None of us knew what the bill was for, but we decided that, in general, if Bush vetoes it, it's probably a good thing.
Gen. David Petraeus vs. 72% of Iraqis
As you know by now, the debate over the war has reached its height. General David Petreaus, commander of U.S. troops in Iraq, testified before Congress the other day to recommend we stay.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The 30,000 additional troops deployed to Iraq in January could come home by next July, but further American withdrawals would be "premature," the U.S. commander there told a fractious congressional hearing Monday.
So, basically, we get nothing. In any event, 130,000 troops are stuck there for another year. They’ll continue to be targets of and fuel for the insurgency.
The Iraqi government is going to be denied the chance to stand on its own, free and independent of the U.S., which is simply a permanent noose around their neck, as the will of the Iraqi people testifies. What’s the will of the Iraqi people, you ask? Great question! Here’s the answer, from a brand new IRAQI opinion poll (released this week) on the surge.
Barely a quarter of Iraqis say their security has improved in the past six months, a negative assessment of the surge in U.S. forces that reflects worsening public attitudes across a range of measures, even as authorities report some progress curtailing violence. snip More Iraqis say security in their local area has gotten worse in the last six months than say it's gotten better, 31 percent to 24 percent, with the rest reporting no change. Far more, six in 10, say security in the country overall has worsened since the surge began, while just one in 10 sees improvement.
More directly assessing the surge itself -- a measure that necessarily includes views of the United States, which are highly negative -- 65 to 70 percent of Iraqis say it's worsened rather than improved security, political stability and the pace of redevelopment alike.
(more statistics below the page break)
Iraq's fine. Didn't you know that?
As casualties passed 3,700, our representatives in Congress are on recess. Not necessarily vacation, though --- some of them are visiting Iraq. Sounds like a great idea, right? Like they're gonna go over there and investigate the situation and then do what's best for everybody and ...yeah, I'm just kidding. Here's why they're going:
My Message to Duncan Hunter
For my Antiwar Tuesday activity this week, I visited Congressman Duncan Hunter's office and read out a brief message. You may have heard his name before. He's a leading Republican, former chair of the House Armed Services Committee and a consistent supporter of President Bush's policies on Iraq. He's been my "representative" in Congress since I was born; he was first elected in 1980 and I was born in 1985. He's currently running for president on a pro-war, anti-immigration, anti-liberal platform.
Here's the message:
I’d like to thank the Congressman for his staunch support for President Bush’s policies regarding Iraq. There are a lot of wonderful things his loyalty has helped the president accomplish, but to make this brief, I just wanted to identify five in particular.
"Executive Privilege"
The plot thickens.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A defiant White House on Monday dared the Democratic-led Congress to take it to court for refusing to provide information and testimony demanded in an investigation into the firing of federal prosecutors.
White House counsel Fred Fielding, in a letter to two congressional chairmen, called their demands "unreasonable because it represents a substantial incursion into presidential prerogatives."
No. Unreasonable because you fucking criminals are hiding something.
Newsweek: Bush's approval rating sinks to 26%
Lower than the previous low of 28, and the lowest since Nixon.
The new numbers—a 2 point drop from the last NEWSWEEK Poll at the beginning of May—are statistically unchanged, given the poll’s 4 point margin of error. But the 26 percent rating puts Bush lower than Jimmy Carter, who sunk to his nadir of 28 percent in a Gallup poll in June 1979. In fact, the only president in the last 35 years to score lower than Bush is Richard Nixon. Nixon’s approval rating tumbled to 23 percent in January 1974, seven months before his resignation over the botched Watergate break-in.
Speaking of 23%, that's where approval for Bush's Iraq policy now stands ---- another record low.