Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Senate OKs Bush War Money 92-3

Senate OKs Bush War Money 92-3
 ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer 
Mon Oct 1, 6:51 PM ET
 
WASHINGTON - Thwarted in efforts to bring troops home from Iraq, Senate
Democrats on Monday helped pass a defense policy bill authorizing another
$150 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 
 
The 92-3 vote comes as the House planned to approve separate legislation
Tuesday that requires President Bush to give Congress a plan for eventual
troop withdrawals.
The developments underscored the difficulty facing Democrats in the Iraq
debate: They lack the votes to pass legislation ordering troops home and
are divided on whether to cut money for combat, despite a mandate by
supporters to end the war.
Hoping the political landscape changes in coming months, Democratic
leaders say they will renew their fight when Congress considers the money
Bush wants in war funding.
While the Senate policy bill authorizes the money to be spent, it does not
guarantee it; Bush will have to wait until Congress passes a separate
appropriations bill before war funds are transferred to military coffers.
"I think that's where you're going to see the next dogfight," said Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., of the upcoming war spending bill.
Democrats say their options include directing that the money be spent on
bringing troops home instead of combat; setting a date when money for the
war is cut off, and identifying a goal to end the war to try to pressure
Bush to bring troops home.
Similar attempts have been made but fell short of the 60 votes needed to
overcome procedural hurdles in the Senate.
"Many of us have reached a breaking point on this," said Senate Majority
Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill. "I've done this for too many years. I've waited
for the president to start bringing this war to an end. I'm not going to
sign up for this any longer."
In the House, Democrats are pushing for a bill that would require the
administration to report to Congress in 60 days and every 90 days
thereafter on the status of its redeployment plans in Iraq.
The bill, sponsored by Democrats John Tanner of Tennessee and Neil
Abercrombie of Hawaii, was initially cast aside as too mild by Democratic
leaders focused on tougher proposals ordering troops home this fall.
But after Democrats were unable to peel off Republican support, the Iraq
debate stalled and some four dozen rank-and-file Democrats demanded a vote
on the Abercrombie-Tanner bill.
"This will be the first time since the war in Iraq began that we are
working together as a Congress instead of one party or another to be a
constructive voice in the civilian management of operations in Iraq,"
Tanner said in a statement e-mailed to the Associated Press.
In February, Bush requested more than $140 billion for the war, and is
expected to ask for another $42 billion to cover costs in the 2008 budget
year, which began Monday. The Senate's defense policy bill authorizes
Bush's initial request, plus an additional $23 billion for the purchase of
bomb-resistent vehicles.
In addition to war money, the Senate's defense policy bill authorizes more
than a half trillion dollars in annual military programs, including such
big-ticket items as $10.1 billion for missile defense.
Republicans predict the bill is on track to be vetoed by President Bush
because it includes hate-crimes legislation by Sen. Edward Kennedy,
D-Mass. The White House has said Kennedy's proposal, which would let
federal law enforcement help states prosecute attacks on gays, is
unnecessary.
The House passed its version of the defense authorization bill in May by a
397-27 vote. That $646 billion measure would trim hundreds of millions of
dollars from some weapons modernization programs and use the money instead
to aid troops in combat.
The House bill has drawn a veto threat from the White House because of
provisions insisting the military rely heavily on American-made products
and proposed changes to the Pentagon's personnel policies.
 
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 Senate OKs Bush War Money 92-3
ecco, adesso ci spieghi Persio, che si è convinto che le cose
cambieranno nella politica estera USA solo per aver letto il discorso
della Pelosi (altro non ha letto, altrimenti perde di vista il quadro
d'insieme...), come può essere ancora convinto di una simile
scemenza...