Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (22333)	7/15/2003 12:24:12 PM
From: jlallen	Respond to of 89467

Kerry is hardly untouchable....

To: American Spirit who wrote (22333)	7/18/2003 7:26:17 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

Senate Rebuffs Democrats' Moves to Challenge Bush on Iraq By Helen Dewar The Washington Post Thursday 17 July 2003 Senate Republicans yesterday held the line against Democratic efforts to challenge President Bush over Iraq, rejecting initiatives to internationalize postwar operations and to create a commission to probe how intelligence was used -- or misused -- to justify going to war. The GOP-controlled Senate also defeated two Democratic proposals to force the administration to spell out the anticipated costs of continuing military operations in Iraq. The showdowns came as Democrats stepped up their attacks on prewar intelligence failures and postwar efforts to bring stability to Iraq, prompting a week of controversy that will culminate today with an address by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush's closest ally in the war, to a joint meeting of Congress. The Senate's consideration of a $368.6 billion spending bill for the Pentagon next year presented Democrats with an opening for initiatives dealing with Iraq, and they seized it, winning a forum for criticizing the administration even though they had little success on what turned out to be largely party-line votes. The move to involve the United Nations and NATO in efforts to stabilize and rebuild Iraq was defeated, 52 to 43, after a heated debate during which Republicans accused the Democrats of trying to dictate to Bush how to carry out his role as commander in chief. The proposal, offered by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), would have asked Bush to submit a report to Congress within 30 days on a timetable for seeking NATO participation in Iraq and for U.N. Security Council authorization for a multinational security force, including NATO troops. "Even President Bush is now saying that rebuilding Iraq will be a massive and long-term undertaking," Kennedy said. "What we need most now is to share at least some of the burden with the international community." But Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said the amendment treads dangerously on presidential prerogatives. "We don't have the power to tell the commander in chief what to do," he said. The proposal for an independent, bipartisan commission to look into Iraq-related intelligence was offered by Sen. Jon S. Corzine (D-N.J.) and was rejected, 51 to 45. The congressionally appointed commission would have looked into the administration's stated justifications for war, including Bush's statement in his State of the Union speech in January that the British had "learned" Iraq had tried to buy uranium in Africa. The administration recently said it should not have made the claim. "Each day we have failed to have an accounting . . . about what really happened," Corzine said. But Stevens said intelligence reviews are already underway in House and Senate committees, and he angrily opposed the proposal as an "attempt to smear the president of the United States." On the first of two amendments dealing with war costs, the Senate voted 53 to 41, largely along party lines, to reject a proposal by Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) to require the administration to submit a budget revision reflecting the anticipated costs of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan next year. The defense bill does not include war costs, which are likely to be covered by an emergency spending bill later in the fiscal year, the way this year's war costs were funded. Officials have said current costs are running $3.9 billion a month. Dorgan acknowledged it may be impossible to pin down the exact cost of future operations but said estimates can be made. "We know the answer is not zero," he said. But Stevens opposed the plan, saying wars have never been financed in advance, and "we shouldn't start now." Congress has already rejected the idea of a contingency war fund out of fear it would give the Pentagon a "blank check" to spend as it pleases. A second proposal to force more cost accounting for the war, offered by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), would have called for reports to Congress every 30 days on costs, personnel levels, contributions by other countries and international organizations, casualty figures, and all contracts in excess of $10 million for the reconstruction of Iraq. It was rejected, 50 to 45. The Senate also rejected a proposal by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) that would have required the administration to disclose how it intends to deal with terrorism suspects being detained by the government. Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), speaking in New York yesterday, escalated his criticism of the administration, accusing it of leaving the United States ill-prepared to prevent terrorist attacks, and charging that Bush's State of the Union address "trafficked in untruth" when some administration officials knew it was wrong. The Democratic presidential candidate stopped short of accusing Bush of not telling the truth about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs, but he said the administration "gave presidential sanction to misleading information and is still trying to conceal what happened." He called for an independent commission to find the truth about what had happened. Kerry also said that Bush has left the United States with a "preparedness gap" on homeland security. "It is clear that a dangerous gap in credibility has developed between President Bush's tough rhetoric and timid policies, which don't do nearly enough to protect Americans from danger," Kerry said in the text of his prepared speech. "It's time we were told the truth about America's safety." truthout.org