February 11, 2009 5:27 PM
- Text
Dems Make War On Bush's Iraq Plan
(CBS/AP)
In a calculated snub of President Bush, the Democratic-controlled Senate Foreign Relations Committee dismissed plans for a troop buildup in Iraq on Wednesday as "not in the national interest" of the United States.
"The president has made his decision," Vice President Dick Cheney fired back, a response that made it clear the administration would go ahead anyway. "We need to get the job done."
The committee vote, 12-9 along party lines, capped hours of debate in which Republicans and Democrats vented their frustration and anger — both with the administration and their own past unwillingness to change the course of a war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 U.S. troops.
"There is no strategy. This is a ping-pong game with American lives," said Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.
"This Congress was never meant to be a rubber stamp," added Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. "Read the Constitution. The Congress has the power to declare war. And on multiple occasions, we used our power to end conflicts."
Hagel was the only one of 10 committee Republicans to support the nonbinding measure.
He is also one of at least four senators on the committee thinking of running for president. "They know their votes are going on the record, and could be thrown back at them on the campaign trail," reports CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.
In the wake of midterm election losses, Mr. Bush announced two weeks ago that he would order an additional 21,500 troops into the war zone. In Tuesday night's State of the Union address, he implored skeptical lawmakers to give the strategy a chance.
According to a CBS News Poll conducted online by Knowledge Networks immediately after the speech, a slim majority of speech-watchers — 52 percent — favor sending an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq. This is an improvement from before the speech, when just 43 percent of the same people supported sending more troops.
Several of the panel's 11 Democrats said they favored stronger legislation to register their opposition to the war.
Less than 24 hours after the speech Sen. Joseph Biden. D-Del., the panel's chairman, said tougher measures were likely to follow.
"Unless the president demonstrates very quickly that he is unlikely to continue down the road he's on, this will be only the first step. ... I will be introducing ... constitutionally legitimate, binding pieces of legislation. We will bring them up," he said.
Taken together, the committee's vote and Cheney's response suggested the Democrats and the White House were on a collision course — lawmakers drafting ever-stronger measures to change policy in Iraq, and the president exercising his prerogatives as commander in chief — and his veto pen.
"We are moving forward," Cheney said in an interview with CNN in which he was asked about the troop buildup. "The Congress has control over the purse strings. They have the right, obviously, if they want, to cut off funding. But in terms of this effort, the president has made his decision."
The vice president added: "We've consulted extensively with them. We'll continue to consult with the Congress. But the fact of the matter is, we need to get the job done."
If the president was almost humbly pleading with Congress to give his plan a chance last night, the Vice President today played what has come to be his typical role: the enforcer, saying firmly "We're going forward," reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.
Inside the Senate committee, all Republicans but Hagel opposed the measure, denying Democrats the strong bipartisan vote they had sought.
"The president has made his decision," Vice President Dick Cheney fired back, a response that made it clear the administration would go ahead anyway. "We need to get the job done."
The committee vote, 12-9 along party lines, capped hours of debate in which Republicans and Democrats vented their frustration and anger — both with the administration and their own past unwillingness to change the course of a war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,000 U.S. troops.
"There is no strategy. This is a ping-pong game with American lives," said Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.
"This Congress was never meant to be a rubber stamp," added Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. "Read the Constitution. The Congress has the power to declare war. And on multiple occasions, we used our power to end conflicts."
Hagel was the only one of 10 committee Republicans to support the nonbinding measure.
He is also one of at least four senators on the committee thinking of running for president. "They know their votes are going on the record, and could be thrown back at them on the campaign trail," reports CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.
In the wake of midterm election losses, Mr. Bush announced two weeks ago that he would order an additional 21,500 troops into the war zone. In Tuesday night's State of the Union address, he implored skeptical lawmakers to give the strategy a chance.
According to a CBS News Poll conducted online by Knowledge Networks immediately after the speech, a slim majority of speech-watchers — 52 percent — favor sending an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq. This is an improvement from before the speech, when just 43 percent of the same people supported sending more troops.
Several of the panel's 11 Democrats said they favored stronger legislation to register their opposition to the war.
Less than 24 hours after the speech Sen. Joseph Biden. D-Del., the panel's chairman, said tougher measures were likely to follow.
"Unless the president demonstrates very quickly that he is unlikely to continue down the road he's on, this will be only the first step. ... I will be introducing ... constitutionally legitimate, binding pieces of legislation. We will bring them up," he said.
Taken together, the committee's vote and Cheney's response suggested the Democrats and the White House were on a collision course — lawmakers drafting ever-stronger measures to change policy in Iraq, and the president exercising his prerogatives as commander in chief — and his veto pen.
"We are moving forward," Cheney said in an interview with CNN in which he was asked about the troop buildup. "The Congress has control over the purse strings. They have the right, obviously, if they want, to cut off funding. But in terms of this effort, the president has made his decision."
The vice president added: "We've consulted extensively with them. We'll continue to consult with the Congress. But the fact of the matter is, we need to get the job done."
If the president was almost humbly pleading with Congress to give his plan a chance last night, the Vice President today played what has come to be his typical role: the enforcer, saying firmly "We're going forward," reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.
Inside the Senate committee, all Republicans but Hagel opposed the measure, denying Democrats the strong bipartisan vote they had sought.
- 1
- 2
- Next Page »
Popular Now in Politics
- CPAC: Will Sarah Palin spring a surprise?
- Sarah Palin revs up CPAC faithful
- Mitt Romney wins Maine GOP caucuses
- CPAC: Anti-Obama beats pro-Romney
- Ann Coulter riles up the CPAC crowd
- Romney takes on hecklers at Maine town hall
- Romney on Obama: I will "knock him on his heels"
- Mitt Romney wins CPAC straw poll
- Gov. Jindal prepping for national stage
- Occupy protestors kicked out of CPAC
- Immigration speaker sparks controversy at CPAC
- Santorum infers straw poll-rigging at CPAC
- What Does 'GOP' Stand For?
- Health Care Bill: What's In It?
- Timothy Dolan: Birth control tweak a "first step"
- After uproar, Obama tweaks birth control rule
- Santorum: Women could bring "emotions" to combat
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook Most Discussed Stories
on CBS News
- NY Fashion Week a high-low mix like never before
- Obstacles remain for Greek bailout deal
- Bahrain police fire tear gas at protesters
- On Valentine's day, a museum for broken hearts
on Facebook Most Discussed Stories
on CBS News
