Democrats Prove Themselves to Be Moral Cowards

patrioticintellect

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Tue Sep-18-07 10:16 PM
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Democrats Prove Themselves to Be Moral Cowards

The latest news on the Democrats is this:

WASHINGTON - Democrats are not expected to take up President Bush's war spending request until November, giving them time to calculate their next move and see if Republican support for his policies deteriorates.

The delay in passing the bill, which Bush says is needed by Oct. 1, is likely to intensify the standoff between the Democratic-controlled Congress and Bush, who says at least 130,000 troops are needed in Iraq through next summer.

Now, with the exception of Dennis Kucinich, all other Democrats seem to be confused. I’m not quite sure that they have done their homework. Or, if they have done their homework, they are playing games with the American people so that they can continue to make money from special interest groups and corporate interest groups who are engaged in war profiteering. Or, they think they should prolong this death and destruction so that Republicans can look worse and so they can ensure that people vote for anybody but a Republican without thinking who that “anybody” is in 2008.

Whatever it is, the Democrats appear to be in need of some help in making a decision. So here are various statistics including some statistics from the Brookings Institution’s Iraq Index:

3,777 US Soldiers Killed, 27,848 Seriously Wounded

Journalists killed - 112, 74 by murder and 38 by acts of war

Journalists killed by US Forces - 14

Iraqi Police and Soldiers Killed - 7,442

Iraqi Civilians Killed, Estimated - A UN issued report dated Sept 20, 2006 stating that Iraqi civilian casualities have been significantly under-reported. Casualties are reported at 50,000 to over 100,000, but may be much higher. Some informed estimates place Iraqi civilian casualities at over 600,000.

Non-Iraqi Contractors and Civilian Workers Killed - 539

Non-Iraqi Kidnapped - 305, including 54 killed, 147 released, 4 escaped, 6 rescued and 94 status unknown.

Iraqis Displaced Inside Iraq, by Iraq War, as of May 2007 - 2,135,000

Iraqi Refugees in Syria & Jordan - 1.3 million to 1.75 million

Iraqi Unemployment Rate - 27 to 60%, where curfew not in effect

Consumer Price Inflation in 2006 - 50%

Iraqi Children Suffering from Chronic Malnutrition - 28% in June 2007 (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)

Percent of professionals who have left Iraq since 2003 - 40%

Any Democratic leaders understand the situation better yet?

Iraqi Physicians Before 2003 Invasion - 34,000

Iraqi Physicians Who Have Left Iraq Since 2005 Invasion - 12,000

Iraqi Physicians Murdered Since 2003 Invasion - 2,000

Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 1 to 2 hours, per Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq (Per Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2007)

Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 10.9 in May 2007

Average Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 5.6 in May 2007

Pre-War Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 16 to 24

Number of Iraqi Homes Connected to Sewer Systems - 37%

Iraqis without access to adequate water supplies - 70% (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)

Water Treatment Plants Rehabilitated - 22%

And just how much money has gone towards this war that has allowed so many of our soldiers to enjoy fun, travel, and adventure in Iraq?

Spent & Approved War-Spending - About $600 billion of US taxpayers' funds. President Bush is expected to request another $200 billion for 2008, which would bring the cumulative total to close to $800 billion.

That’s your taxpayer money. And the Democratic-controlled Congress is looking to give even more money to fund the war without even agreeing to give more money to the war. Just how do they plan on doing that you ask?

In the meantime, Congress also is expected to approve the Pentagon's nearly half trillion annual budget, which omits war spending. That money covers routine costs, including training, payrolls and weapons procurement.

Under that bill, the military is expected to be granted the authority to transfer money between accounts, potentially keeping the war afloat for several more months.

The Pentagon’s bloated budget will be keeping the war going, and the Democrats will be allowing it every step of the way. They are not going to try and stop it. There’s no reason to try and stop it and have a confrontation so lives can be saved in Iraq. The party will not benefit from a confrontation. The party will benefit from sitting back, allowing more death and destruction to occur, and letting the American people watch the Republicans struggle to figure out how to continue the war.

Murtha and other Democrats say final passage of the annual spending bill — anticipated by early October — curbs the urgency of the separate war spending bill. It also lends breathing space to a party divided on what to do next.

CURBS THE URGENCY?!!! America this is utterly insane. It has never been more urgent than now to act and defund the war. The party is only divided on the issue because the corporate powers that be are telling Democratic leaders what to do or else face loss of future campaign contributions. Oh, and there’s also that fact that 5 people running ---all Senators (Sen. Clinton, Sen. Edwards, Sen. Obama, Sen. Dodd, Sen. Biden) ---would rather go on this ride than have Richardson’s campaign, Gravel’s campaign, or most importantly, the man who has sponsored the policy that is the only real solution to this Iraq quagmire, Dennis Kucinich’s campaign benefit from bringing the troops home now.

Murtha and other Democratic leaders used to be talking “strategic redeployment”. They used to be seriously looking at withdrawal. But they can’t even do that now. The party is in so much disarray and riddled with so much weakness that out of fear of losing face they postpone a debate on funding of the war because they know the outcome will upset the American people greatly.

To our men and women in harm’s way, it is a terribly insane that the Democratic leaders who won control of the House and Senate in 2006 cannot get you out of harm’s way. I shudder at the thought of what it must feel like to be stuck in Iraq doing what? What mission are you pursuing? Even if it is to allow corporations access to Iraq’s oil reserves, you aren’t being told to go fight for that. No general is telling you that’s why you must secure Iraq. So what is the mission?

America, we should not wait for our soldiers to figure out what they are in Iraq for. The war is over. The mission is over. The cash flow should be stopped. If not for moral reasons such as stopping massive destruction and countless deaths, than for the fact that economically we can no longer keep track of the cash flow having lost 9 billion dollars of US taxpayers' money and also mismanaged and wasted 10 billion. And so we must refuse to wait any longer for improvements, for benchmarks to be met, or for anything else Democrats ask us to wait for.

Our mission is clear. Get these “spineless, gutless, hapless Democrats” to stop being skulking cowardly politicians in Washington. Make them stand up for the American people and the American troops in Iraq. Tell your representative or senator to defund the war now and bring our troops home.

End this Insanity Now!!!!!

REFERENCES

http://usliberals.about.com/od/homelandsecurit1/a/IraqNumbers.htm

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070917/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq