The Bush administration goes back to the well. My money's on the Dems caving again.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 — President Bush asked Congress on Monday to approve $196 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other national security programs, setting the stage for a new confrontation with Democrats over the administration’s handling of Iraq.
Mr. Bush’s request increased the amount of the proposed spending by $46 billion over the $150 billion already requested this year. Much of the added spending would pay for new armored vehicles designed to withstand attacks by mines and roadside bombs, and a rise in operational costs because of the increase in the force in Iraq, now at more than 160,000 troops.
The spending request — declared an emergency under spending rules, even though the need for the money was never in question — comes in the middle of the White House’s fight with Congress over a series of spending bills for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. None of those bills has been completed so far.
Democrats on Capitol Hill, having failed last week to override Mr. Bush’s veto of an expansion of a children’s health insurance program costing $35 billion, reacted with dismay and anger that reflected a broader frustration over the war in Iraq. They also said they believed that Mr. Bush delayed his formal request to avoid unfavorable comparisons between his veto and the spending on the war.
House and Senate leaders have warned they would not take up the president’s request until they resolve differences in the spending bills that Mr. Bush has vowed to veto. Those differences amount to $22 billion, a fraction of the spending for Iraq and Afghanistan. They'll weep and gnash their teeth and quietly fume over "more money for war and nothing for the poor..."
...and then they'll cave.
Unfortunately, that's what Democrats do.
Meanwhile, Turkey may pull a GWBush and invade Iraq. This time, the cassus belli is the same one Turkey has threatened to react to before -- to stop the Kurdish militant group, the PKK, from conducting terror activity in northern Iraq and Turkey. Turkey is now putting the pressure on Washington (and the Maliki government in Iraq) to clamp down on the supposedly placid Kurdish territories. Look for Washington to comply.
That, after all, is what the Bushies have to do at this stage.
Labels: Iraq war, Kurds, PKK, Turkey |
