Big Dogs Weblog

Democrats Cut (Money) and Run

by Big Dog on Nov 16, 2006 at 08:35 Political

I mentioned on my radio program and have written before that the only power Congress has over the military is the power of the purse. They have no authority to move troops or to have those troops engage in battle but they do have the power to stop paying for the troops. Dennis Kucinich has now proposed this very act. It should come as no surprise that the Democrats would cut funding for the troops. They claim to support the troops but by cutting the money they are showing a lack of support.

“I want to say that there’s one solution here, and it’s not to engage in a debate with the President, who has taken us down a path of disaster in Iraq, but it’s for Congress to assume the full power that it has under the Constitution to cut off funds. We don’t need to keep indulging in this debate about what to do, because as long as we keep temporizing, the situation gets worse in Iraq.

“We have to determine that the time has come to cut off funds. There’s enough money in the pipeline to achieve the orderly withdrawal that Senator McGovern is talking about. But cut off funds, we must. That’s the ultimate power of the Congress, the power of the purse. That’s how we’ll end this war, and that’s the only way we’re going to end this war. Kucinich website

Kucinich does not believe it is time to engage in debate. What he is saying is “We are in charge now so do what we tell you.” Fortunately, the President has the veto pen and can veto any budget that does not provide for the troops. The President can also veto budgetary items for many things that are not war related so the Democrats should be careful about not engaging in debate. There will be no debate if the President vetoes anything because the Democrats do not have enough power to override any veto.

This all comes as Senator Carl Levin, the man slated to take over the Armed Services Committee, stated that it was time to tell Iraqis that we were pulling out and that they needed to fend for themselves. That should surprise no one given that pulling out is a Democratic delight (If Bill Clinton had not “pulled out” he might have never been caught). The Democrats are always in favor of an act but when it gets tough they want to cut and run. Now, Kucinich wants to cut money and Levin wants to run. If they slap our troops in the face now like they did to the men and women who served in Vietnam, there will be another period of poor recruitment and low morale just as their was after that war. At this time in history a weakened and dispirited military is the last thing we need.

All of this comes at a time when the senior military commander in the middle East, General John Abizaid, went before Congress to tell them that a time table for withdraw would be a disaster. The Democrats have acknowledged this in their meetings with Jalal Talibani prior to the elections. Of course, it is likely they were telling him whatever he wanted to hear so as not to make it an election issue. The Democrats to not really give a flip if they screw over the Iraqis. Hell, they don’t care about screwing over our troops.

Democrats have been coalescing around a call for beginning a U.S. withdrawal in coming months. In arguing against a timetable for troop withdrawals, Abizaid told the committee that he and other commanders need flexibility in managing U.S. forces and determining how and when to pass on responsibility to Iraqi forces.

“Specific timetables limit that flexibility,” Abizaid said.

Asked directly what effect he foresaw on sectarian violence if Congress legislated a phased U.S. withdrawal starting in four to six months, Abizaid replied, “I believe it would increase.”

“It seems to me that the prudent course ahead is to keep the troop levels about where they are,” Abizaid said, while placing larger teams of U.S. military advisers inside Iraqi army and police units. He said that increased emphasis on advising Iraqi units might be accomplished without significantly increasing the total U.S. force in the country. Breitbart

The problem is, Congress can not let the military run the military. Civilian oversight is important but oversight does not mean making decisions that affect the prosecution of the war. For months leading up to the elections I have heard Democrats say that the President is not listening to the commanders. They often said to just ask the commanders on the ground and you will get a different story than what the President is telling us. Now that we can all hear what the commander is saying it is the Democrats who are not listening. Amazingly, (or maybe not) the Democrats asked us to just listen to the commanders and yet when one mentions that the description of things on the ground is vastly different between what the MSM says and what the troops say, a difference that is widely ignored. What the troops have to say has little bearing on the Democrats unless they say what they Democrats want to hear. An anti-war troops is paraded all over by the Dems as a representative of all troops (as if a new John Kerry is born) and those who support their mission are ignored.

Perhaps when the Democrats are done ruining our military again, there will be so few true patriots willing to enlist and fight that Congress will have to introduce legislation to reinstitute the draft. This will especially be true if soldiers come home and say the hell with it and then we are attacked again. Then, all the protestors and activists who were so enamored with the results of the last election will have an opportunity to serve their masters in Congress.

If we cut and run from Iraq I will no longer be able to talk to men and women about the benefits of military service. I am a huge supporter of the men and women in the military but if the Democrats screw them again, my advice to young people would be to pick another line of work. To those on active duty, I would say serve your time and get out. There is no honor in serving a country with leaders who do not want you around and who will dishonor you when they get the chance.

Tags: Political