Congress calls for troop pullout

Democrats in the Senate passed a bill yesterday that would put pressure on President Bush to… Democrats in the Senate passed a bill yesterday that would put pressure on President Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq as early as this summer. The bill, which passed by a 51-47 vote, also provides $123 billion in funding for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and has set a nonbinding goal of ending all combat operations by March 2008.

President Bush has already threatened to veto the measure, insisting that the funding bill came with too many strings attached. With the funds in Iraq running low – Bush claims troops will run out of money by mid-April, while Democrats say the date is closer to June – both groups are very aware that the longer the bill stalls, the more precarious the situation will become in Iraq.

As a response to the Democrats’ decision to pursue legislation that would likely be vetoed, Bush warned that the “American people will know who to hold responsible if the war fails,” according to The Washington Post.

Of course. Why would we hold our commander-in-chief responsible for the failed war?

Speaking of accountability, Democrats are only working to fulfill the promises they made to the American people when they took over Congress after the mid-term elections this fall. The majority of the American public has been rooting for a troop pullout, and Democrats have a duty to follow through on their campaign promises.

It appears that Bush is the one acting irresponsibly. Democrats are acting stubbornly by forcing through legislation that they know will be vetoed, but by consistently going against the recommendation of the majority of Congress and the opinion of the majority of the American people, Bush is the one that is putting our soldiers at risk. In the end, he is the one who is delaying the funding, and it is his stubbornness that might set us back overseas.

Bush has argued that he is the “decider” in this war. If the American public was OK with that, they would have left Congress with the status quo, rather than electing a Democratic majority. Historically, it has been the responsibility of Congress to put a check on the president’s powers, especially in times of war.

The sad thing is that the current debate has become one of politics instead of what is best for our country. The vote in the Senate was almost completely along party lines – 49 of the 51 voters approving the measure were Democrats and 46 of the 47 opposing were Republicans. Republicans are standing by the president, choosing party loyalty over what is ultimately best for our country and our troops.

With President Bush threatening to veto and Democrats unlikely to come up with the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto, it is likely that a compromise solution will be in the best interest of both parties. But it is important that the Democrats hold their ground, especially since the nonbinding troop withdrawal deadline that passed with the bill is a far cry from some of their staunch campaign promises.

As our party leadership flounders over bruised egos and failed war strategies, it’s time for Congress to become the decider.