Yesterday, the US Senate voted 50-48 to reject a Republican amendment "that would have struck a troop withdrawal plan from emergency military funding legislation." Voting with the Democrats was Republican Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who has been working more closely with Democrat Jim Webb of Virginia on the Iraq issue, and Republican Gordon Smith of Oregon. Other Republicans voted in lockstep in favor of the amendment, as did "Independent Democrat" Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.
The Washington Post called the vote "a surprise victory...in their bid to force President Bush to end the Iraq war." Here's some commentary from the Progressive blogosphere:
*At Daily Kos, Markos says that Senate Majority Leader Harry "Reid did an incredible job of keeping Democrats together." Kos also provides a list of "Republicans facing tough or potentially tough reelection battles in 2008 [who] just voted to escalate Bush's war with no accountability."
*AmericaBlog says that Democrats are "fulfilling the wish of the electorate," and notes that "one more time, Maine's Susan Collins proved she is no moderate."
*Shakespeare's Sistersays that when President Bush issues his veto on the Iraq bill coming to his desk:
...it will be his second, the first being against the bill seeking to expand funding for embryonic stem cell research. Support Bush's Culture of Life: Just say no to curing diseases and ending wars!
*Matthew Yglesias writes that this "lay[s] the groundwork for a furious spinning battle once Bush vetoes the supplemental."
*Finally, Connecticut's My Left Nutmeg points out that "Lieberman voted with the republican warlords once again, of course." MyLeftNutmeg notes that it is nearly impossible to "make heads nor tails of this gobbledygook Lieberman spews." Moralistic and extremely annoying gobbledygook, I would add..
BAGHDAD - Shiite militants and police enraged by massive truck bombings in the northwestern town of Tal Afar went on a revenge spree against Sunni residents there Wednesday, killing as many as 60 people, officials said.http://news.yahoo.co...
The gunmen began roaming Sunni neighborhoods in the city, shooting at residents and homes, according to police and a local Sunni politician. ***[A]Sunni member of the local Turkomen Front Party, said the Iraqi army had arrested 18 policemen accused of being involved after they were identified by the Sunni families targeted. But he said the attackers included Shiite militiamen.
I wrote about the dozens killed yesterday in an earlier diary.
I have been reassessing my thoughts about when the U.S. should get involved in bad international situations. I still do not have an answer. But we need to carefully examine the possibility of civil war erupting every time we venture forth. (And some civil wars produce a positive outcome, as our own did.)
FALLUJA, Iraq, March 28 (Reuters) - Insurgents with two chlorine truck bombs attacked a local government building in Falluja in western Iraq on Wednesday, the latest in a string of attacks using the poisonous gas, the U.S. military said. It said 15 Iraqi and U.S. soldiers were wounded in the blasts and many more suffered chlorine poisoning.http://www.alertnet....
For my money, Reuters has the best Iraq news coverage. To get to it, you go to this page: http://www.alertnet.... Then you look at the left "Emergencies" column and scroll down to "Iraq in turmoil."
The same page will give you up to date news on the situation in every country with a humanitarian crisis. There are lots of heart rendering situations in the world. Bush picked the one with a big pool of oil sitting underneath.
Warner continues to yearn for the days of the (109th) Rubberstamp Congress, apparently, when bowing to the President was rewarded with a warm, gentle pat on the head.
You have to respect Warner's service, I'm just starting to question his judgement, and after the way he stuck the knife in over the whole Iraq Study Group fiasco, I just can't wait for him to leave office.
I called the newsroom to complain: "The Sequence of events is that the PRESIDENT defies Congress, not the other way around." This is true because Congress' legislation came first, the mere threat of a veto came second. What is it with the mass media, anyway?
Here is an alarmist Russian article on the U.S. buildup directed against Iran:
Here is an Indian journalist who reports that Sheik Khalifa of the UAE has just assured Iran that the UAE would not permit attacks to be launched from UAE territory against Iran. The UAE, by the way, is where the U.S. runs a theater air operations center out of Al Dhafra Air Base.
Note also, as Dianne does in her RK diary citing Jim Hoagland's editorial in today's WaPo, that Saudi King Abdullah has dissed Bush by declining an invitation to a White House Dinner in April and a state visit in September. Given the intertwined policy and business interests of the Bushes and the Saudi royals over the years, this signal is a very loud one.
In the swirl of self-serving propaganda spewing from all sides, it is difficult for us mere citizens to puzzle our way through the chaff to make judgments. But such signals as the ones above do seem to demonstrate that our Boys in the Bunker are frightening the entire planet, including erstwhile "friends." The only lingering support for the Boys in the Bunker seems to be among their obedient Republican apparatchiks serving in the House and Senate.
I would feel a lot better if there were some sign of adult supervision emanating from the bunker, but there is none. And each day both Bush and Cheney appear, in speech and appearance, to disintegrate further before our very eyes.
The only thing standing between us and an accelerating geopolitical death spiral may be Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Although Gates carries some baggage as an ideologue not above "fitting the facts to the policy" and as a loyal Bush family retainer, he does seem to be tethered to reality. He seems even now, as he operates under constraints imposed on him by the Boys in the Bunker, to reflect the reality-based GOP rump of Brent Scowcroft and James Baker.
Scrutinize every word Gates utters in coming days. Carefully.
Iraq is a buffer between the Sunni and Shia
If the U.S. leaves one of the scenarios is Iraq becoming Shia which opens the door for even greater influence with Iran (shia).
Saudi Arabia (sunni) is terrified of Iran (shia)