Congress Ready For War Victory Party

Sets Aside $20 Million To Celebrate End Of Iraq, Afghan Wars

(AP)  The military's top generals have warned Iraq is on the cusp of a civil war and that U.S. troops must remain in large numbers until at least next spring. But if the winds suddenly blow a different direction, Congress is ready to celebrate with a $20 million victory party.

Lawmakers included language in this year's defense spending bill, approved last week, allowing them to spend the money. The funds for "commemoration of success" in Iraq and Afghanistan were originally tucked into last year's defense measure, but went unspent amid an uptick in violence in both countries that forced the Pentagon to extend tours of duty for thousands of troops.

Republicans have yet to claim responsibility for the provision. Democrats say it was likely added by the Senate's majority Republicans, and less than five weeks from congressional elections are pointing to it as another example of where the GOP has gone astray handling the war in Iraq.

"If the Bush administration is planning victory celebrations, Americans deserve to know what their plan is to get us to a victory in Iraq," said Rebecca Kirszner, spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Carolyn Weyforth, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said, "Republicans are confident we will be victorious in the ongoing war in terror, and we look forward to a time when those funds can be used to honor the men and women who have risked and given their lives."

Under the language, the president could "designate a day of celebration" to honor troops serving in the two wars. The president also could call on the nation "to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities" and issue awards to troops who have served honorably.

The Pentagon could spend up to $20 million of its $532 billion budget in 2007 for the commemoration, minus any private contributions it might receive for such an event.

The money will be available for the 2007 budget year, which began Oct. 1.

Some 140,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, with a drawdown not expected until at least early next year.

About 20,000 more are in Afghanistan. Last year, Bush administration and Pentagon officials had hoped thousands of troops could be brought home before the Nov. 7 elections.

Proclaiming victory in the Iraq war has already proven to be tricky business.

President Bush was slammed by critics for delivering his "Mission Accomplished" speech in May 2003 aboard an aircraft carrier. While troops had successfully stormed Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein's regime in Baghdad, the fight over control in the nation against a violent insurgency had just begun.

Vice President Dick Cheney also was ridiculed for suggesting last year that the insurgency was in its "final throes."

[adventurepa]

"I wonder how many homes $20 million could build in New Orleans?
How many text books it could buy for schools?
How many Americans could be helped in disasters like tornado's?
How many mouths it could feed in america?
But as usual it will go to celebrate and feed a bunch of rich old men who don't need it.
Vote these money grubing idiots out of office."

[wvce]

Jane,before this administration, I felt that I could disagree with anything I wanted without being called names or having my patriotism questioned. It's not that way anymore and it infuriates me.
With regard to Alan Colmes. Please. Fox picked the dullest, most milqetoast stereotypical liberal pansy they could. Colmes is nothing but a professional whipping boy for Hannity. Hannity is a bully and Colmes is a pu$$y whose job is to roll over. He's the Washington Generals of Fox.
With regard to Clinton. Again, please. Clinton did not make Mark Foley chase after underage boys. Clinton did not make certain people cover for Mark Foley while he did it. Let's say for the sake of argument that That Ol'Debbil Bill Clinton did expose him, it doesn't change the fact that Mark Foley is a pedophile who chased young boys under his charge while he was being protected by various people.

[wvce]

Jane, sure Democrats have Micheal Moore and Kitty Kelley. They also have Paul Begala, Al Franken and James Carville. I've read books by all of them and all of them put together don't come close to spewing the same kind of venom and indecency of Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter. Any reasonable person knows that.
What's wrong with a right-leaning station? Nothing, as long as they don't try to pass themselves off as "Fair and Balanced". It's a free country and we all have the right to free speech. The level of partisanship on Fox, however, much more blatant than any other outlet, including CNN and MSNBC. It's also a whole lot more intolerant of anyone else's views. Surely you won't try to compare Tim Russert to Sean Hannity. If I seem bitter here sometimes, it's because I'm sick of being labeled with the conservative epithet "liberal", or "moonbat", "defeatocrat" or even "traitor" by people like Hannity, Limbaugh and Coulter because I don't agree with everything that Bush wants to do. Is the intelligence or patriotism of conservatives constantly being questioned on CNN or MSNBC? So yes, I take what they say as an affront, as I'm sure it's meant to be.

[exusmcsgt]

janem4-

May I suggest that you search for more than one angle on any given situation to try to find the centerpoint? Those who rely only on biased reporting from one side or another end up - guess what? - biased.

[minx80]

Yea, what a waste of $ unless for the soldiers to party, open bar, top shelf liquor. But really it's a crummy 20mil. Take a look at all the real waste and pork. It'd probably make us all choke.

[trailwalker2]

This beats all things. Who will be the beneficiary of the $20 million? I'll bet it won't be the average taxpayer who is the one paying for it or the soldiers who sacrificed their time and/or life.

[trailwalker2]

This beats all things. Who will be the beneficiary of the $20 million? I'll bet it won't be the average taxpayer who is the one paying for it or the soldiers who sacrificed their time and/or life.

[markmn29]

Lets also not forget what the republican mudslingers did to Max Cleeland of Georgia and what they are now doing to Senator Murtha. At least John Kerry and the above representatives did serve their country. I would love to see George W Bush's daughters be drafted and forced to fight in the streets of Baghdad. I'm also sick and tired of Hannity saying "we have a volunteer military force, everyone in the military volunteered" Mr. Hannity, most of the people in the service and especially the National Guard units serve to pay for their education. If they were from rich families like the Bush's and Cheney's they would not be in the military. I know people from my area over thier right now and they served to pay for college. We have had two local soldiers killed, a 22 year old from my small town with his leg blown off and last week 3 more injured. When is it going to end? It keeps getting worse, every day you hear of 50 more bodies found in Iraq, 3 more american soldiers killed. And all of this after "Mission Accomplished"

[wvce]

And Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, that chickenhawk who stayed out of the service by having his family doctor sign an affidavit saying that he was unfit for duty because of a boil on his a$$. Thank Goodness we have Ann Coulter to expose those yappy, hysterical 9-11 widows for the traitorous witches they are.

[qn_of_spades]

I think that it is absolutely shameful that this Republican Congress is "dancing on the graves" of our soldiers. This 20 million dollar victory party would have been to celebrate Republican courage and wisdom and to shame Democratic spinelessness. I think it escapes most people's attention that our troops STILL don't have body armour or the right amount of supplies. How can they so arrogantly claim to be the party that supports the troops when the families of the soldiers are having to raise funds to purchase equipement for the soldiers. 4 plus years into this fabricated war the majority of the population believes the Republican led government has our best interest at heart. Hogwash. My guess is that they just strictly vote for laws that the Republican leadership puts in front of them without even caring so that they can receive "fundraising" money. WHO IS RUNNING OUR COUNTRY?!! I am ashamed and appalled.

[wvce]

Oh...and the Swiftboaters! How could I forget the Swiftboaters? People who attack the service records of people who DID go to Vietnam on behalf of those who used money and family influence to hide in the Texas Air Guard or college. You have to admit, it takes quite a B.S. artist to make a spoiled, drunken frat-boy who kept those Texas skies clear of the Red Menace look braver than a man who jumped off a boat to chase down and kill a VC who was setting up an attack with an RPG.

[random_radar]

I wonder how many college scholarships $20 million could provide to the orphans of our soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Oh, but Washington is all about victory parties? Sounds like dancing on the graves of our citizen soldiers.

[wvce]

Janem4, you think that the Democrats are great at mud-slinging and wish the Republicans would respond in kind?? Since you're a Republican, I assume you watch Fox, at least occasionally. Did you ever waste 5 minutes listening to Hannity? The Republicans are the best in the WORLD at mud-slinging! From Lee Atwater to Rove to the entire propaganda machine at Fox, they're the best that's ever been.

[hilario3]

How could they even consider 'setting aside'
money for a party when our brave men and
innocent Iraqi citizens are dying more and
more frequently.

The Republicans could have one of their
million dollar fundraisers to pay for 'victory
party' and have those they made wealthy from
this war for profit pay the bill.

[adventurepa]

I wonder how many homes $20 million could build in New Orleans?
How many text books it could buy for schools?
How many Americans could be helped in disasters like tornado's?
How many mouths it could feed in america?
But as usual it will go to celebrate and feed a bunch of rich old men who don't need it.
Vote these money grubing idiots out of office.

[clestes-2009]

This is an even stupider waste of money than spending it on outfitting the army!

Victory?? What victory?? I guess Congress can celebrate victory if they define victory as there is a higher number of attacks every month. Or maybe Iraq being even further from stability now than ever. How about a victory celebration when the number of US dead reaches 3000?

This just proves that the Bush admin and the Rep party has no idea of what is happening in Iraq. They are still in dream mode back where Bush was declaring "Mission Accomplished".

We need a new leadership. One that faces reality and has answers for mistakes. Not one that believes what it wants to believe and if facts get in the way, oh well, we won't look at that.

[exusmcsgt]

Janem4-

I find your "shoot the messenger" philosophy entertaining, to say the least. The Repub-led Congress passes a bill containing 20M for a celebration that will never happen and you attack the Dems because it gets reported.

You obviously subscribe to a thought process that everything Repub is good and everything else is bad. It appears to me that you suffer from political myopia.....

janem4 wrote:

"Ya know, I just love all this garbage thrown out a few weeks before an election. It's a *** shame that the left can't conduct a campagin based on relevent issues and policy. It's always smut."

You are right - it is smut - and the Right does their fair share of throwing it as well.

Just look at the smut king - Cheney.

[missingamerica]

That's more than disgusting...it's using dead soldiers for personal gain...

[mwe3wm]

All I can say is "Are you kidding me."