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War, War, War See other War, War, War Articles Title: Bush a 'bully' on Iraq: Democrats Bush a 'bully' on Iraq: Democrats 2 hours ago WASHINGTON (AFP) — Democrats Thursday branded President George W. Bush a "bully" on Iraq, but faced Republican charges of ignoring "crystal clear" progress in the country, ahead of a new Senate showdown on the war. Lawmakers drew battlelines for likely the last war wrangle of a tumultuous year of turf wars between Congress and the White House, over a new 50 billion dollar combat funding bill including Democratic demands for troop withdrawals. Senate Democratic Majority Harry Reid took a harsh line against Bush, warning: "He damn sure is not entitled now to having this money given with a blank check." "Americans need someone fighting for them, taking on this bully we have in the White House," Reid told reporters. Democrats threatened Republicans with a rare weekend senate vote after the start of the scheduled break for the Thanksgiving holiday on the bill, which passed the House of Representatives late on Wednesday. "The (Iraqi) government is stalemated today, as it was six months ago, as it was two years ago," Reid said, warning US soldiers were caught in the middle of a civil war. But Republicans accused Democrats of wilfully ignoring progress in Iraq under US commander General David Petraeus, which they said was proven by a decrease in US troop deaths and sectarian attacks. "We really should not cut off funding for our troops in the field, particularly at a moment when the tactical success of the Petraeus plan is crystal clear," said Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell. "Attacks and casualties are down and political cooperation is occurring at the local level." Should the bill, as expected, fail to pass, Democrats say they will not give Bush any more money this year for the war. That would force the Pentagon to dip into its regular budget to pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that if the money was not approved, funding for the war would run out by February, and the Pentagon would be forced to temporarily lay off an estimated 200,000 civilian employees and defense contractors. And he said the administration had already begun drawing down US troops on a timetable of five of 15 combat brigades by July. "So the issue now really is about pacing. How fast do you change the mission? How fast do you draw down the troops?" he said. The Senate was expected to start work on the war funding bill by Friday, though the measure is considered dead on arrival due to Republican opposition. Bush, who has repeatedly outmuscled Democrats attempting to tie his hands on the war, has threatened to veto the measure in the unlikely event it reaches his desk. The emergency budget provides only four months of funding for the war, and only a 50 billion dollar chunk of the 196 billion dollars requested by Bush. It calls for troop withdrawals to begin within 30 days and sets a goal of December 15, 2008, for the pullback of most combat troops to be completed, and outlaws the use of torture by US government agencies. "The days are over when the money is sent no questions asked, when the money is sent without a price," Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said. Republicans have put forward what they call a "clean" funding bill, stripped of troop withdrawal deadlines, which is also expected to fall short of the 60-vote threshold needed to move major legislation in the 100 seat Senate.
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#2. To: tom007 (#0)
May be a good idea to check the returns for freezer burns.
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