Self Immunization
As noted in prior posts, next week the House will vote on a Resolution stating opposition to Bush’s escalation of the war. Reports also have it that the Republican alternative will also be debated and come to a vote.
Mr. McHugh has submitted a bill, HR 775 that he calls the Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and for the Reconstruction of Iraq, 2007. Like the vast majority of his bills, it has no cosponsors.
It does not oppose the escalation and, in fact, funds it to the tune of $50 Billion, albeit for only 4 months. After that, he proposes that the remaining funding be appropriated upon the President certifying that progress on certain performance measures is being made. The performance standards are:
a. A commander and 2 deputy commanders are to be appointed for the Iraqi forces in Baghdad and “provision” for three more Iraqi Army brigades and “additional” Iraqi police forces. (In the US Army a Brigade is 1500-3000 soldiers, the definition is unknown for the Iraqi forces).
b. Passage of a oil revenue sharing law that will allow for oil revenue to be shared by all citizens.
Unclear what exactly this is. Does he mean each Iraqi gets a dividend check from the oil revenue, much like Alaskans do now?
c. Reformed de-baathification: allowing former Baathists, i.e. those of Saddam Hussein’s party to enter the “critical” sectors of political and economic life.
I suppose that’s not so bad. We did it with rocketeer Wernher von Braun, an SS-Sturmbannführer (Major) and his engineers who rained down V2 rockets on London and oversaw V2 production at Peenemünde and the concentration camp at Mittelbau-Dora (Mittelwerk) where 20,000+ died in slave labor producing the V2.
d. Disarming Militias
e. Economic development with the Iraqi Government providing 10 billion for reconstruction and an “effective jobs creation program”
f. Constitutional reform: a committee composed of members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives are to put forward amendments to their constitution.
The vast majority of Article 137 that he cites in the bill was never seen by the Iraqi people prior to voting on it.
Bottom line: His President gets a free pass disguised as accountability. All the President has to do is certify that “progress” is being made, and more funds are appropriated. After all the deception, 65% of Americans don’t trust the President, why does he?
In the end, this bill does nothing. The silence of co-sponsors is deafening. Not even his colleagues want anything to do with it.
This bill is not a solution, this is an immunization. Dollars to donuts he’ll vote against the Resolution opposing the escalation and use this bill as cover.
One Response to “Self Immunization”
Publius on 10 Feb 2007 at 6:01 pm #
With the electoral defeat of two higher ranking Republican members of the Armed Services Committee, McHugh is now the third ranking Republican. With chairman Duncan Hunter, a declared contender for the Republican presidential nomination, trying to play it safe, it may well be that McHugh, coming from a relatively safe congressional district, has been chosen by the Bush administration to be its legislative point man on the War in Iraq. The bill discussed by Theophilius looks very much like the President’s answer to the Democratic majority’s effort to have the President change his course. It looks as if it had been drafted in the White House with Pentagon assistance, providing the needed money required for the surge and the so-called “new strategy” to stay the course. In this case, the lack of co-sponsors may signal that it is the administration bill. A stalwart supporter of the war, McHugh may now step into the limelight as a leading defender of a sinking administration.