Cutting Funding for the War in Iraq

We are now in the fifth year of the War in Iraq. Bush was definitely wrong in his first prediction that it would take only a few weeks, or possibly months.

In recent months it became increasingly obvious that he was looking ahead to the end of his second term and things looked bleak for his place in history, because then he began talking in terms of the War on Terror going on into the future, possibly for many years, so that the success or failure could be passed on to following presidents.

Now, with the House voting to cut off funds for the armed forces sent to Iraq in his Surge (and the Senate still to vote on it), Bush has announced that he will veto the bill when it comes to his desk. This is a familiar Bush tactic. First, there stands our Mighty Leader, defending our armed forces and the people of Iraq as well as the people of the United States. And also first, if the Surge fails, the blame will fall squarely on the shoulders of the Democrats. Note, in his veto announcement, he stated numerous times that the Democrats were just “playing politics.” He knew when he rushed to send the Surge to Iraq before the new Congress took office that the Congress, backed by public opinion was very much against the move. Even if he prevails, the funds will now necessarily be delayed by the processes of government. Instead, he is ready to further endanger the lives of the forces he sent before and until the funds become available.