Rice: Bush Will Not Give In On Iraq Bill

Secretary Of State Says U.S. Officials Already Have Their Plan For Iraq

(CBS/AP)  President George W. Bush will not support a war spending bill that punishes the Iraqi government for failing to meet benchmarks for progress, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday on Face The Nation.

Rice's comments cast fresh doubt on a potential compromise between the Democratic-led Congress and the White House in getting money to U.S. troops.

Also, with a regional conference on Iraq set to begin Thursday in Egypt, Rice raised the possibility of a rare direct encounter between high-level U.S. and Iranian officials. Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki is expected to lead his country's delegation.

"I would not rule it out," Rice told Bob Schieffer. "We will be there not to talk about U.S.-Iranian issues, but to talk about Iraq, and how Iraq's neighbors can help to stabilize Iraq, and I won't rule it out."

In Washington this week, Bush plans to veto a $124.2 billion war spending bill that includes a timeline for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq. In a second version, Democratic leaders may scrap the timetable but work with Republican lawmakers on benchmarks: ordering the Iraqi government to fulfill promises on allocating oil resources, amending its constitution and expanding democratic participation.

Rice said the president would not agree to a plan that penalizes Baghdad if the Iraqi government fall shorts. To do so, she said, would restrain the abilities of Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and Ryan Crocker, the new U.S. ambassador to Iraq.

"Why tie our own hands in using the means that we have to help get the right outcomes in Iraq?" Rice said. "That's the problem with having so-called consequences for missing the benchmarks."

Rice said that the Iraqi government is not moving forward fast enough, but "General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker have a plan and a way forward."

Benchmarks have emerged as a possible rallying point as U.S. leaders seek to show they are holding the Iraq government accountable. But establishing goals without consequences may seem pointless to many Democratic lawmakers, who want an aggressive change in policy.

"The benchmarks — the Iraqis agreed to it, the president agreed it," said Democratic Rep. John Murtha, who also appeared on Face The Nation. "We're saying to them, well, let's put some teeth into the benchmarks."

Rice said it makes sense to give Iraq's leaders time to meet the goals they have set. She said Bush has made clear to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that people in the United States have limited patience.

In their push to link U.S. money or troop support to Iraqi performance, however, Democrats must negotiate with Republicans. On their own, Democratic lawmakers do not have the votes to override Bush's veto.

Bush is expected the veto the existing war bill by Tuesday, then meet Wednesday with congressional leaders on the next steps.

"If he vetoes this bill, he's cut off the money, but obviously, we're going to pass another bill," Murtha said. "I'd like to see two months ... Fund it for two months instead of a year. And then look at it again."

Meanwhile, Rice said will not appear in person before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to answer questions about the Bush administration's prewar intelligence. Rice said she already has addressed claims that Iraq had sought uranium from the African nation of Niger.

The committee voted 21-10 last week to issue a subpoena to compel her testimony.

Asked about the possibility of being held in contempt by the committee chairman, Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman, Rice said, "That's the chairman's prerogative. I respect the oversight — the oversight responsibilities of Congress — but I frankly think this one has been looked at and looked at and looked at."

[abbe7]

I'd love to see righties try to spin this one and say it's again Clinton's fault ... ;-)

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=JAS20050809&articleId=823

[realpatriot1]

mudrose,

We knew you weren;t so bored that you would actually go away. What are you doing to raise the level of class on this blog?

[johngress]

OK, lets review: Bush/Cheney decides to attack Iraq based on false information/lies/cherry picked info./the terrorism card/or, maybe it just made good business sense(*see Haliburton). After "bring 'em on and mission accomplished" the real war breaks out. The administration continues on, with no idea where they're going. It's just like watching a dog chasing its tail.

After years of administration ineptitude,the American people see the futility in continuing this war. The administration colors anyone who disagrees with their policy as unpatriotic and against the troops. Well folks, that's another lie they want you to believe. Most of us see this war for what it is, a fiasco wrapped in lies. We respect and admire our troops. We want them home, safe, and relieved of the tremendous sacrifices they have had to bear.

No one in this administration went to war during Vietnam. Maybe that accounts for their inexperience with war and foreign policy. However, nothing good ever gets accomplished when you stubbornly hold on to policies that make no sense. Bottom line, this is an unwinnable war!

OK, what do we do? Pull out? Probably the best bet. But it does create a vacuum that will be filled by Iran and terrorist organizations. Unfortunately, we are probably stuck there for the foreseeable future.

There should be accountability for this madness. Impeachment is a good option. It has been a generation since Nixon, and people seem to forget that no one is above the law.

[the74blaster]

We need to stop thinking of democrats & republicans and start thinking of the best for the United States!!

Posted by bmsbms29

I am glad that you made that statement and its something we agree on.

The simple facts are the national debt has skyrocketed by 3.15 trillion dollars under Bushs leadership, the justifications Bush cited for invading Iraq are fabrications and our foreign policy is a joke.

The best outcome for the United States is for Bush to resign or for our congress to impeach him.

[pakaal]

bmsbms29 wrote: "I praise God for President Bush & his concern for our country. And the Demos are just being a pain in the ...
We need to stop thinking of democrats & republicans and start thinking of the best for the United States!!"

Hey, bmsbms29, don't you think that when you say you praise one side, say the other side are "a pain in the ..." then say we need to rise above partisan politics, you're ignoring your own bias? Just wondering. If you want everyone to be nonpartisan, picking sides isn't going to help your case. It's kinda like Mark Foley advocating for protecting kids against sexual predators, or Deputy Secretary of State Randall Tobias advocating agencies take a "no-prostitution oath" while continually soliciting the services of prostitutes....

[pakaal]

January 11, 2007, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice: "The most important thing that the Iraqi government has to do right now is to reestablish the confidence of its population that it%u2019s going to be even-handed in defending it. That%u2019s what we need to see over the next two or three months, and I think that over the next several months they%u2019re going to have to show that."

So, it's two to three months later Secretary Rice, time's up on your latest 'window of opportunity'. Time to listen to the people of the US, our military leaders and the Iraqi people, and start withdrawing our troops from their civil war.

[me4prezz]

We need to stop thinking of democrats & republicans and start thinking of the best for the United States!!

Posted by bmsbms29 at 05:31 PM : Apr 30, 2007

That is the problem with the United States. We need to stop thinking solely on what is best for us. We need to start thinking about what is best for the international world we share and how to coexist in not only safety, but in a manner that does not place those not guilty of any crime, but lacks the capability to defend itself against a stronger military giant (such as Iraq versus US), so that needless killings stop.

Do what is best for the United States?

What is best for the United States is to stop anatgonizing those that were once awed and respectful of the mighty power that we stood for and of the dignity and the freedom that we fought for. Now, we are the murderous tyranical bigot country that cares nothing save ourselves to fight a country that had nothing to do with one of the worst American tragedies in our history for what? What have we accomplished in our show of force into a nation wracked by poverty and hardship? All we have proven is that not only Saddam can make their lives miserable or participate in mass murder, but that it can be done in many forms and under many guises.

[me4prezz]

meforprezz,

Perhaps Bush & Cheney hope that a President Guliani will invade Netherlands to spring them from The International Court of Justice because that's where they're going to eventually end up.
Posted by realpatriot1 at 10:49 PM : Apr 29, 2007

I just find it entirely too convenient that our esteemed leader of the free world signed on the dotted line to be a participant in what is the the world's greatest hope of combining resources to keep further would-be Hitlers, Saddam Husseins and other power hungry tyrannical dictators from twisting the law of HUMAN DECENCY AND RIGHT TO LIVE from ever performing the atrocities of the past one year prior to engaging in an illegal war (And yes, people...the legality of the war is no longer an issue. The UN has even declared, while not loudly, it an illegal war and overstepping the bounds of UN treaties).

No matter what we said we were doing there or are doing there, the fact remains that we broke international laws by doing so and international laws take precedence over our own. Bush is a traitor to the governments of now only that which he leads, but that of the international community, and he will be called to account for it---if not by the American people, then by the Interntional Court of Justice that he tried so hard to avoid.

[bmsbms29]

I praise God for President Bush & his concern for our country. He understands the dangers the United States will face if we pull out too soon. And the Demos are just being a pain in the ... since they feel they have the power (with the majority) they want to show whose the boss!! Ha Ha! They don't even care about our troops & making certain they have enough & the best of weapons, etc. The demos just want to show 'their power'

We need to stop thinking of democrats & republicans and start thinking of the best for the United States!!

[j-whitman]

Hey Bush,,,, The Iraqi parliament wants to take 2 months off for vacation ----- Sign the friggin bill, deadlines are obviously manditory

"Why tie our own hands in using the means that we have to help get the right outcomes in Iraq?" Rice said. "That's the problem with having so-called consequences for missing the benchmarks."
so says the Secretary of State - but she never mentions the fact that she and George don't have a clue as to GETTING IT RIGHT IN IRAQ. My way is the only way while more deaths and injuries are just conincidental to the self deserving claims that are just a perposterous as the ideas.
Why not give in and stop the combat - let the chaos mend to it's own level - help the Iraqi people - stop the most rightious political meandering with a constitution no meant for the Iraqi people - but for the political inclined including the U.S. wrongful designs of peace in Iraq. Why not stop being the self-proclaimed-genious and just come down to reality. This is not going to be won militarily - you know it so why keep this fiasco in operation.

[lochlan-2009]

"Bush Will Not Give In On Iraq Bill"

Well, Congress needs to get re-elected, so they better not give in either. Hey, why don't they just solve the problem and impeach this guy and Cheney.

It's all Bushit!!!

[forthepeopl1]

hey lets all here it for the bush team..all hale the pigs..latest new- tarrest actack are only up 50% so far this year..and lets not forget about the children casualties there only up by 80% so far around 1800 so far..great job lets here it for all of them..bang,bang,bang,bang,bang,bang,bang,bang

[j-whitman]

mudrose,,,, Bored ???? Turn on the news --- or just go over to the front page -
- Terrorist attacks worldwide shot up 25 percent last year

[mudrose-2009]

As for me, I am terribly bored.
Posted by mudrose
Not to mention outclassed.
Posted by rsoxfan1123

Of course I am dearie. I'm in a low class blog.

[j4401]

"It is insane and stupid if you view it as even slightly related to the war on terror. If you view it as what it actually is - an attempt to control a huge source of oil and make lots of money for Bush and his buddies - it is much more sensible and intelligent but unfortunately is also deeply evil, treasonous and mass murder on a colossal scale."

Whoever posted this: Now we are getting somewhere.

[realpatriot1]

mudrose,

Let's talk about solutions.

I'm sure the Islamofascists were listening after Sept. 11 when the country was totally united behind the President and the war in Afghanistan. What's different now? We've lost the moral high ground. Yes,were in trouble and we will be until we can get it back.

THE TERRORISTS DON'T REPRESENT ALL OR EVEN MOST MUSLIMS. When we lump all Muslims together we undercut moderate Muslims who are just as apt to be listening and we strengthen the radicals.

Iraq & Syria are lead by leaders who gain political capital by arming the forces aligned against us because the locals see us as occupiers and they are seen by their people as supporting local independence. As long as we stay and refuse to negotiate with them they don't have to defend their role to their moderate citizens. So long as we stay it's the war next door against brother Muslims to them.

If we attack them and widen the war, even the moderates will become radical and anti-American.


The threat to leave makes it their problem. They have to consider how they would handle the refugees and how they would control the spreading of sectarian violence into their countries. They could not possibly have any greater motivation to help us if we would set a firm timetable and call for their involvement in negoiations in the meantime. Theirs your solution; it's the only solution.

[rsoxfan1123]

As for me, I am terribly bored.
Posted by mudrose
Not to mention outclassed.

[selenite1]

George Bush is a cretin and a criminal.

His administration is equally "talented".

Sign the bill, George.

You lost. Again.

[jimibear]

"Same spin, same nonsense. Circular thoughts, no resolution. My side is better than yours and your side stinks. Always the same ole same ole. Enjoy your discourse. You are right and anyone who disagrees with you is wrong. Must be great to be on the side of the righteous. As for me, I am terribly bored.
Posted by mudrose at 03:14 PM : Apr 30, 2007
+ report abuse"

If you actually tried to refute the points made against you instead of spouting slogans and saying "same old same old", it would cause you to have to think, and then you wouldn't be bored.

Of course, you would also be forced to face the fact that your position is wrong and indefensible. Like your president, you lack the courage and refuse to acquire the knowledge to do that.