'The White House is in a cloud somewhere'

It has not been a good week for leadership nor democracy itself. The House and Senate are getting ready to pass what Democratic leaders insist is the best bill we could get to fund operations in Iraq through September. From the AP:

"I hate this agreement," said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

Obey said the deal was the best that Democrats could manage because "the White House is in a cloud somewhere in terms of understanding the realities in Iraq."

The bill includes the nearly $100 billion that President Bush requested for military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as billions in domestic spending, including $6.4 billion in hurricane relief and $3 billion in agricultural assistance.

Republicans were unhappy about the added domestic spending, but said they were relieved the final measure did not attempt to set a timetable on the war.

"We cannot and will not abandon the Iraqis to be butchered by these terrorists in their midst," said Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif. "And we cannot and will not abandon our mission just as real progress is starting to be made."

Well, that last point is seriously debatable. Kagro X at Daily Kos:

If not approving unfettered funding is abandoning the troops in the field, then just as surely leaving them there with no mission, no way to win, and no way out is abandoning them, too.

We are all culpable today. And we are all living under the cloud Obey mentioned  - a debilitating cloud of shame and lies that the Bush administration brought on our nation in March 2003. May we live - and may our troops live - to see a brighter, wiser day than this one.

Comments

[Julie Fanselow]

If you didn't hear Keith Olbermann's latest special comment last night, by all means ...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18831132/

Just be prepared to be depressed. Never before has Diana's blog title "We have failed our duty as citizens" seemed as apropos.

[Bubblehead]

I hate to say "I told you so", but... http://redstaterebels.typepad.com/red_state_rebels/2007/05/mission_snafu.html#comment-68329192

[Julie in Boise]

Yeah, you sure did.

I am one of many, many Democrats who feel used and abused today. But not as used and abused as our troops, who are bearing the brunt of these political shenanigans.

[Julie in Boise]

I just sent the following to Mike Simpson:

I am very disappointed in the lack of leadership in Congress on the Iraq War. Rather than abandoning our troops to the terrorists, we are abandoning them without a clear exit strategy and even a clear mission.

The mission seems to change weekly. We have been in Iraq four years. Come September, I hope you will vote AGAINST any further war funding that does not establish a timeline to bring the troops home. And I hope you and other congressional Republicans will help President Bush see that his obstinancy on this issue is only making the situation worse.

We "broke" Iraq, but does that mean we have to buy it - indefinitely?! Let's help the Iraqi people take control of their country over the next year, then get out.