Reply #22: It may not be so easy [View All]

[karynnj]

Even leaving, or working so we can leave soon, will require money be spent. Additionally some of the money is needed to restore what was been ruined in Iraq and Afghanistan. It sounds like the best Democrats will be able to do is to fight corrupt charges and include sense of the Senate resolutions. I hope the Democrats having Congress can do some good - but I doubt there are more than a single digit number of Senators who would vote against funding for most of these reasons.

From the NYT:

The budget request includes:

--$41.5 billion to cover the costs of ongoing military operations.

--$26.7 billion for replacing and repairing equipment damaged or destroyed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

--$10 billion for body armor and other equipment to protect U.S. troops from attack.

--$2.5 billion to combat roadside bombs and other improvised explosive devices.

--$2.7 billion for intelligence activities.

Whatever request emerges from the Bush administration will go to a new Congress controlled by Democrats highly critical of the Iraq war and Bush's handling of it.

Even so, there is much sentiment among Democrats to protect troops and much fear about being portrayed as unsympathetic to men and women in uniform. These factors probably would overwhelm any efforts by anti-war Democrats to use the debate over the Iraq money to take on Bush's conduct of the war.




http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Iraq-Spending.html?_r=1&oref=slogin