Senator Coleman About to Cross the Line
I get and read Senator Norm Coleman's eNewsletter. His most recent one explained why he did not support the Senate's Iraq Funding Bill with the March 2008 deadline for starting the withdrawal of troops from the slaughter.He wrote,
"During the last week of March, we debated and ultimately passed the 2007 Supplement Emergency Appropriations Bill. Unfortunately, the bill contains language that sets an arbitrary date for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. The safety of our troops – and providing them with the tools they need for success – remains my number one concern. Setting an arbitrary timeline for withdrawal does not protect our troops, but does embolden our enemies. For this reason I could not support this bill. That is the bad news about the supplemental.
The good news is that we succeeded in including a number of provisions that are critically important for Minnesota. This bill contains $4.2 billion in long-awaited agriculture disaster relief I have been fighting for. By a vote of 51-45, we protected $50 million in security dollars to help the Twin Cities afford the necessary security measures for the 2008 Republican National Convention. And the Senate passed my amendment to allow Cass County to build a Critical Access Hospital in the city of Walker – another priority I have been working on for a long time.
The President has said he will veto this bill, which means we in Congress will have another shot at taking out the Iraq language and sending him a bill he can sign into law. As we move ahead, I will fight to keep these important priorities in the bill and will be proud to support it once we take out the language that undermines our troops. "
I responded with the following email:
Dear Senator Coleman,
I am disappointed that you did not support the Iraq funding bill, even though you attached billions of dollars of non-military spending to it.
The theory that the setting of deadlines for a pull out gives the enemy an advantage is disingenuous. The resistance has had the advantage from the start. That is why it was a terrible mistake to go into Iraq in the beginning. That is why President Bush the Elder didn't push on to Baghdad during the Gulf War.
The military adventure that President Bush the Usurper has mired us in was illegal from the start and only grows more so with each passing day.
Remember what Collin Powell said, "You break it you own it."
President Bush broke it and now wants to drag it out until he can somehow turn it into the Democrats war. He is willing to continue to kill and maim Americans and Iraqis, undermine our values around the world, and squander the wealth of our nation at the cost of our children, poor and elderly.
Bush is unable to stand up like a man of honor and accept the heavy responsibility for what he has done.
Anyone who supports his policies or actions that allow him to continue this murderous war only prolongs this disaster. It has gotten to the point that those who enable the President must share in his guilt.
Sir, you are crossing a line that separates patriots from war criminals. Please reconsider your support of this President.
The time has come to hold All of our elected officials to account for prolonging this illegal war.
What supports our troops more: bringing them home and out of harm's way or leaving them in Iraq for an arbitrarily prolonged period where they can be killed, maimed, and psychologically traumatized?
At some point, and that point is now, the excuse that "I was mislead" no longer applies. Too much has happened to permit anyone the comfort and cover of saying,"I didn't know."
We do know.
George Bush and the people that supported him broke Iraq. They own it. Now it is time for them to own the consequences and do the honorable thing: withdraw or troops and admit defeat.
Only then can we get on with the more important tasks at hand: healing our country, restoring our credibility around the world, rethinking our entire approach to how we deal with terrorism, and showing compassion to our children, the poor, and the elderly who have suffered with the squandering of our national wealth.
posted by Les @ 5:43 AM
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