Posted on 11/30/2007 9:32:05 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
ARLINGTON, Va. — President Bush on Thursday urged Congress to pass funding for the war on terrorism before lawmakers leave for the upcoming Christmas recess.
Bush spoke to reporters briefly at the Pentagon after meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England on the military’s long-term needs and the “importance of progressing with modernization,” he said.
“The men and women of this department, the Department of Defense, are helping to carry out the government’s most important duty: protecting the American people,” Bush said.
He also said the department’s mission was too important to be “disrupted or delayed or put at risk.”
Bush said Congress has yet to approve funding he requested in February for combat operations and to train the Iraqi and Afghan security forces, and the continued delay could hurt the Defense Department.
“Secretary Gates puts it this way, ‘The Defense Department is like the world’s biggest supertanker: It cannot turn on a dime and I cannot steer it like a skiff,’” Bush said.
Bush said Gates has transferred the maximum amount of money allowed to pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now he has told the Army and Marine Corps to prepare to lay off civilian employees, terminate contracts and prepare stateside military bases for reduced operations.
“These are contingency steps that a prudent manager must take,” he said.
Bush called on lawmakers to pass the approved funding, saying policymakers have a responsibility to “send the right message to the rest of the world.”
“Let us tell our enemies that America will do what it takes to defeat them,” Bush said. “Let us tell Afghans and Iraqis that we will stand with them as they take the fight to our common enemies. Let us tell our men and women in uniform that we will give them what they need to succeed in their missions, without strings and without delay.”
In response to Bush’s comments, U.S. Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., said if Bush wants the $50 billion he requested, he must agree to certain conditions including coming up with a plan to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq by December 2008.
“We cannot stay in Iraq forever,” Obey said in the statement. “The president should accept these conditions and come up with a responsible plan to bring our troops home.”
U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., accused Bush of brinkmanship.
“By threatening to close military child-care centers and counseling services, the president is using our military families as a wedge,” Murtha said in a statement Thursday. “These kinds of comments and threats do nothing to move the debate forward.
“The president should do what Americans want him to do — present to Congress and the American people a bipartisan plan that brings our troops home.”
U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., accused Bush of brinkmanship.
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And the U.S. citizenry accuses Murtha of treason, accessory to bribery, behavior unbecoming a Congressman, being a lacky stooge for Comrade Pelosi, villifying our military, and outright Democrat behavior...the last being all inclusive in reality.
Go back to work and do your jobs. Pass the Ward Funding package and root for AMERICA!
I agree bring 'em home. Through Tehran.
The Dems intend to punish the military for their victory in Iraq, making them lose face nationally and internationally.
Americans are watching closely and will be VERY slow to forget. The Dims are sowing the seeds of their own defeat, but at a tremendous cost to our soldiers who have worked so hard.
From the president on down the repubs have really really dropped the ball on this one and I have nothing but shame at how they are fighting for the troops.
What would you have them do. It is up to House of Representatives to furnish the money and the Pelosi Puppets are refusing to do so. They don't give a damn how many of the troops die for lack of the necessities for fighting the war -- what matters is that we lose the war. Of course that's treason, but then they are democraps -- what else can you expect?
What would you have them do. It is up to House of Representatives to furnish the money and the Pelosi Puppets are refusing to do so. They don't give a damn how many of the troops die for lack of the necessities for fighting the war -- what matters is that we lose the war. Of course that's treason, but then they are democraps -- what else can you expect?
A special session of Congress is coming. The RATS pulled such a stunt over Thanksgiving. Let’s see how they like being in Washington on Christmas Day and their favorite “holy-day” - New Year’s Eve, when they can drink their livers to death.
Warning to parents: Don’t let your daughters get within 100 miles of a Kennedy on New Year’s Eve - or any night.
The left is eager to destroy our military, and they regard this refusal to fund it as an excellent way to do so.
The treasonous swines will play this until they are held accountable. They put their own evil brand of politics ahead of this nation’s security and our armed forces. If ever there was a case of Civil War, times right now in this country are reaching an intolerable level.
What about North Korea and Kosovo?!
What would I have them do? Let’s see. What would I do if I were President, or a congressman, or a senator? I would be shouting from every roof top I could get on, every microphone I saw, write in every newspaper I could get it how the troops are unfunded, how their supplies are coming to an end, how their families are suffering, and how the democrats are killing them because they don’t like George Bush. When was the last time I heard my Congressman or Senator say something even close to that? Or anyone else’s?
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