Iraq war funding information

US House rejects funding for Iraq, Afghanistan wars as Republicans sit out vote in protest

The Associated Press

Published: May 16, 2008

WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush's Iraq war funding request collapsed in the House Thursday as anti-war Democrats and Republicans unhappy about added domestic funding combined to kill — for now — $163 billion (€105 billion) to support U.S. troops overseas.

The unlikely coalition formed when Republicans expected to provide the winning margin for the Iraq and Afghanistan funding instead sat out the vote in protest.

The Republican revolt was a response to Democratic strong-arm tactics in advancing the must-pass measure, as well as their efforts to add money for the unemployed and an expansion of education benefits for soldiers.

The defeat of the Iraq funding measure came on a 149-141 tally. Nearly two-thirds of the House's Democrats voted against continuing to fund the war as 132 Republicans sat out the vote in protest.

Democrats then forced through a nonbinding plan seeking an exit from Iraq by December of next year. The 227-196 vote on the measure broke mostly along party lines.

Thirty-two Republicans joined Democrats on a 256-166 vote to sharply boost education benefits for Iraq-Afghanistan veterans under the GI Bill — despite an accompanying tax surcharge on the wealthy and small businesses — and voted to provide a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits.

The practical effect of the Republican protest is likely to be minimal. While it kills the war funding component of the bill for now, the Senate is sure to revive it next week.

The White House weighed in again Thursday with a promise to veto the bill over the non-war spending, the new tax surcharge and restrictions on Bush's ability to conduct the war in Iraq.

Republicans said the strategy by Democrats to load the war funding measure with non-war provisions like extending unemployment benefits unnecessarily delays getting funding to troops in the field.

In the House, each side accused the other of using the must-pass troop funding bill for political advantage.

"We're playing political games on the backs of our troops — you know it," said Minority Leader John Boehner, a Republican.

"All this bill's going to do is delay the process for weeks and weeks and weeks while we play political games."

The Republican revolt came two days after the party suffered a devastating loss in a Mississippi special election that left Republicans saying big changes in party message are needed in order to connect with voters. Thursday's moves were not orchestrated by party leaders and whether they were politically savvy was not at all clear.

"With today's vote, the Republicans have shown that they are confused and are in disarray," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat. "House Republicans refused to pay for a war they support, and by voting against the GI bill, they refused to support our veterans when they come home."

House action on the bill was the first act in a complicated legislative dance that promises to spill over into June, when the Pentagon will have to send out warnings of possible furloughs to civilian employees and contract workers.

Democrats engineered the three-vote minuet to allow anti-war liberals to vote against funding the Iraq war.

The add-ons for the unemployed and the new college benefits under the GI Bill represented the price demanded by Democrats for approving Bush's long-stalled request for additional war funding.

To pay for the add-ons and adhere to budget rules requiring new benefit programs not add to the deficit, the Democratic plan would impose a surtax on individuals with incomes above $500,000 (€323,000). Couples would pay the tax on income exceeding $1 million (€650,000).

Senators in both parties, however, were balking at the one-half of a percentage point increase in tax rates. At the same time, Republicans and business groups said the plan amounts to an increase in taxes on small businesses that pay taxes at the same rates as individuals.

The war spending portion would have provided $163 billion (€105 billion) for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan into next year, slightly less than Bush's request.

The House measure also includes money for foreign aid and military construction projects as well as flood protection around New Orleans and a variety of smaller items.

Bush also has threatened to veto any bill that ties his hands on Iraq. The House measure would require Bush to begin pulling out troops from Iraq within 30 days once the bill becomes law, with a nonbinding goal of a complete withdrawal of combat troops within 18 months. Senate Republicans are expected to block the provision.

Report: GOP senators pushing off from Bush

Published: May 14, 2008 at 2:20 PM

WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- An increasing number of Senate Republicans may break from U.S. President George W. Bush on an emergency war-spending bill, GOP consultant say.

With the Republican Party sustaining unexpected losses in recent special congressional elections, and the popularity of both the president and the Iraq War waning, Republicans seem prepared to look ahead to the next administration rather than continue supporting Bush, The Hill reported Wednesday.

The Senate Appropriations Committee is preparing to take up the administration's request for a supplemental spending bill for Iraq. Bush has insisted he will veto the measure if Congress adds to the $169 billion funding request or includes domestic spending in the bill.

Republicans expect the measure may be the only spending bill passed before the November elections, and many GOP senators say they would support adding billions of dollars in domestic spending, the Capitol Hill newspaper said.

The measure could include a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq. Senate Republican leaders are not sure they have enough votes to sustain a filibuster of such a measure.

Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona told The Hill Republicans might resort to sustaining a veto of a withdrawal timetable, which requires fewer votes.

"Whatever we have to do to prevail, even if it is to sustain the president's veto, we'll do that," said Kyl.

© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.

Senate panel approves Iraq war funding bill

By Manu Raju [ from The Hill ]

Posted: 05/15/08 07:22 PM [ET]

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a sweeping emergency wartime funding package that includes restrictions on President Bush’s Iraq policy and provides tens of billions for new domestic programs. The voice vote approval sets up a floor fight next week between the two parties over domestic priorities and the Iraq war on the eve of Congress’ one-week Memorial Day recess.

The package includes three separate amendments: $169 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through part of next year; more than $25 billion in new domestic spending; and language that sets a goal for the president to transition troops out of a military role in Iraq by June 2009.

The three different amendments will give Democrats who oppose the war an opportunity to vote for withdrawing troops without jeopardizing funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Senate is expected to ultimately reject the war policy amendment, which also includes a ban on permanent military bases in Iraq and language to give troops longer lag time in between troop deployments.

The chamber is anticipated to approve the troop-funding provision, but the prospects for the amendment adding domestic spending remain unclear.

Through a procedural maneuver, the bill would land on Bush’s desk as one bill. But the package first must clear the Senate and House, which earlier Thursday rejected a provision to spend $162 billion on the wars.

Bush has vowed to veto any bill that exceeds $178 billion for the wars through the rest of this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, and for part of fiscal year 2009. He has called on Congress to keep the bill free of domestic add-ons, but Democrats are daring him to veto the bill at a time when a growing number of Americans are concerned about the economy and the direction of the country.

Republicans say Democrats are putting troops at risk by loading up the supplemental, which Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) characterized as “horse-blank.”

“What hogwash. Let’s all have a big laugh,” he said before mockingly laughing out loud.

“By the end of 2008, the war in Iraq will have cost over $600 billion,” the 90-year-old Byrd said in a scathing 30-minute opening statement. “More than $600 billion dollars for every minute since our lord Jesus Christ was born. That’s a staggering figure.”

A number of Republicans have joined Democrats in pushing to beef up the domestic spending in the supplemental measure, recognizing that the must-pass bill remains one of the few pieces of legislation likely to become law before November’s elections.

Still, the committee added some controversial provisions that could cost Democrats some GOP support and votes from the conservative wing of their caucus.

For instance, Congress including in the domestic-programs amendment a provision that would help pave the way for undocumented agriculture workers to win legal status, an amendment that could reopen Congress’ rancorous debate over immigration policy.

The supporters of the so-called Ag-Jobs measure, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Larry Craig (R-Idaho), say the five-year program is needed to keep farms operating and crops growing. The provision was added by a 17-12 vote.

But critics say that it amounts to amnesty for people who entered the country illegally, and warn that it could imperil support for the underlying bill.

Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, a conservative Democrat who voted against the Feinstein-Craig amendment, said it raises a “red flag.”

He said he would wait until he sees the final product before determining whether to support the bill.

Other immigration measures were added as well, including one by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who sought a three-year extension on a returning worker provision under H-2B visas, which she said was necessary to save seasonal businesses like seafood companies. That amendment has the support of Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.).

“It could be the end of crab meat,” she warned if the amendment were to be rejected. It was added to the Iraq-funding portion of the bill.

By a 20-9 vote, the committee also approved an amendment by Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) to increase low-income heating assistance by $1 billion.

The move prompted the ranking member of the committee, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), to warn that a slew of amendments that were being added could lead to a White House veto.

“I think we are getting carried away here with the ease with which we are running up the bill,” Cochran said. “We’re turning this bill into a huge bill to force the administration to veto it.”

But Cochran and a number of other Republicans are strongly supportive of many other domestic spending items in the bill. Cochran, for instance, backs $10.4 billion for Gulf Coast recovery from the 2005 hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A number of centrist Republicans and ones in tough races support a 13-week extension of unemployment insurance, 11 Republicans are co-sponsoring a provision by Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) to expand educational benefits for veterans, many support a plan to delay seven Medicaid rules issued by the Bush administration and $400 million of the so-called Byrne grants for state and local law enforcement remains very popular with both parties.

Those provisions, as well as billions of dollars for military-construction projects, might be too tough politically for Republicans to vote against, Democrats hope. And in the committee markup, Republicans were not shy about adding more funding on the domestic side.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) won adoption of $50 million for an amendment to fund the Adam Walsh Act, a law aimed at tracking unregistered sex offenders. And Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) won adoption of a $100 million amendment to boost border security.

“I think what you saw today is a strong expression, bipartisan, from a number of people about our country addressing critical domestic issues,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, who is a member of Democratic leadership. “It’s now up to the full Senate to determine that.”

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 330(Democrats in roman; Republicans in italic; Independents underlined)
H R 2642 YEA-AND-NAY 15-May-2008 3:45 PM
QUESTION: On Agreeing to the Senate Amendment With Amendment No. 3
BILL TITLE: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act

	Yeas	Nays	PRES	NV
Democratic	224	7		4
Republican	32	159		8
Independent
TOTALS	256	166		12

---- YEAS 256 ---

Abercrombie Ackerman Allen Altmire Andrews Arcuri Baca Baird Baldwin Barrow Becerra Berkley Berman Berry Bishop (GA) Bishop (NY) Blumenauer Boswell Boucher Boyd (FL) Boyda (KS) Brady (PA) Braley (IA) Brown, Corrine Butterfield Buyer Capito Capps Capuano Cardoza Carnahan Carney Carson Castle Castor Cazayoux Chandler Clarke Clay Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Conyers Cooper Costa Costello Courtney Cramer Crowley Cuellar Cummings Davis (AL) Davis (CA) Davis (IL) Davis, Lincoln DeFazio Delahunt DeLauro Dent Dicks Dingell Doggett Doyle Edwards Ellison Emanuel Emerson Engel English (PA) Eshoo Etheridge Farr Fattah Filner Fortenberry Fossella Foster Frank (MA) Giffords Gilchrest Gonzalez Gordon Green, Al Green, Gene Grijalva Gutierrez

Hall (NY) Hare Harman Hastings (FL) Hayes Herseth Sandlin Higgins Hill Hinchey Hinojosa Hirono Hodes Holden Holt Honda Hooley Hoyer Inslee Israel Jackson (IL) Jackson-Lee (TX) Jefferson Johnson (GA) Johnson (IL) Johnson, E. B. Jones (NC) Jones (OH) Kagen Kanjorski Kaptur Kennedy Kildee Kilpatrick Kind King (NY) Kirk Klein (FL) Knollenberg Kucinich LaHood Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) LaTourette Lee Levin Lewis (GA) Lipinski LoBiondo Loebsack Lofgren, Zoe Lowey Lynch Markey Marshall Matsui McCarthy (NY) McCollum (MN) McDermott McGovern McHugh McIntyre McNerney McNulty Meek (FL) Meeks (NY) Melancon Michaud Miller (MI) Miller (NC) Miller, George Mitchell Mollohan Moore (KS) Moore (WI) Moran (VA) Murphy (CT) Murphy, Patrick Murphy, Tim Murtha Nadler Napolitano Neal (MA) Oberstar Obey Olver

Ortiz Pallone Pascrell Pastor Payne Pelosi Perlmutter Peterson (MN) Petri Platts Pomeroy Porter Price (NC) Rahall Ramstad Rangel Renzi Reyes Richardson Rodriguez Ros-Lehtinen Ross Rothman Roybal-Allard Ruppersberger Ryan (OH) Salazar Sánchez, Linda T. Sanchez, Loretta Sarbanes Schakowsky Schiff Schwartz Scott (GA) Scott (VA) Serrano Sestak Shays Shea-Porter Sherman Shuler Sires Skelton Slaughter Smith (NJ) Smith (WA) Snyder Solis Space Speier Spratt Stark Stupak Sutton Tanner Tauscher Taylor Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Tierney Towns Tsongas Udall (CO) Udall (NM) Upton Van Hollen Velázquez Visclosky Walz (MN) Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Watt Waxman Weiner Welch (VT) Wexler Whitfield (KY) Wilson (OH) Woolsey Wu Wynn Yarmuth Young (AK)

---- NAYS 166 ---

Aderholt Akin Alexander Bachmann Bachus Barrett (SC) Bartlett (MD) Barton (TX) Bean Biggert Bilbray Bilirakis Bishop (UT) Blackburn Blunt Boehner Bonner Boozman Boren Boustany Brady (TX) Broun (GA) Brown (SC) Brown-Waite, Ginny Buchanan Burgess Burton (IN) Calvert Camp (MI) Cannon Cantor Carter Chabot Coble Cole (OK) Conaway Cubin Culberson Davis (KY) Davis, David Davis, Tom Deal (GA) Diaz-Balart, L. Diaz-Balart, M. Donnelly Doolittle Drake Dreier Duncan Ehlers Ellsworth Everett Fallin Feeney Ferguson Flake

Forbes Foxx Franks (AZ) Frelinghuysen Gallegly Garrett (NJ) Gingrey Gohmert Goode Goodlatte Granger Graves Hall (TX) Hastings (WA) Heller Hensarling Herger Hobson Hoekstra Hunter Inglis (SC) Issa Johnson, Sam Jordan Keller King (IA) Kingston Kline (MN) Kuhl (NY) Lamborn Lampson Latham Latta Lewis (CA) Linder Lucas Lungren, Daniel E. Mahoney (FL) Manzullo Marchant Matheson McCarthy (CA) McCaul (TX) McCotter McCrery McHenry McKeon McMorris Rodgers Mica Miller (FL) Miller, Gary Moran (KS) Musgrave Neugebauer Nunes Paul

Pearce Pence Peterson (PA) Pickering Pitts Poe Price (GA) Pryce (OH) Putnam Radanovich Regula Rehberg Reichert Reynolds Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rogers (MI) Rohrabacher Roskam Royce Ryan (WI) Sali Saxton Scalise Schmidt Sensenbrenner Sessions Shadegg Shimkus Shuster Simpson Smith (NE) Smith (TX) Souder Stearns Sullivan Tancredo Terry Thornberry Tiahrt Tiberi Turner Walberg Walden (OR) Walsh (NY) Wamp Weldon (FL) Weller Westmoreland Wilson (NM) Wilson (SC) Wittman (VA) Wolf Young (FL)

---- NOT VOTING 12 ---

Bono Mack Campbell (CA) Crenshaw DeGette

Gerlach Gillibrand Hulshof Lewis (KY)

Mack Maloney (NY) Myrick Rush

Bush rejects defense bill by pocket veto

By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer Fri Dec 28, 6:31 PM ET

CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush on Friday used a "pocket veto" to reject a sweeping defense bill because he dislikes a provision that would expose the Iraqi government to expensive lawsuits seeking damages from the Saddam Hussein era.

In a statement, Bush said the legislation "would imperil billions of dollars of Iraqi assets at a crucial juncture in that nation's reconstruction efforts."

The president's objections were focused on a provision deep within legislation that sets defense policy for the coming year and approves $696 billion in spending, including $189 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also in the legislation were improved veterans benefits and tighter oversight of contractors and weapons programs.

The pocket veto means that troops will get a 3 percent raise Jan. 1 instead of the 3.5 percent authorized by the bill.

Bush's decision to use a pocket veto, announced while vacationing at his Texas ranch, means the legislation will die at midnight Dec. 31. This tactic for killing a bill can be used only when Congress is not in session.

The House last week adjourned until Jan. 15; the Senate returns a week later but has been holding brief, often seconds-long pro forma sessions every two or three days to prevent Bush from making appointments that otherwise would need Senate approval.

Brendan Daly, spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, "The House rejects any assertion that the White House has the authority to do a pocket veto."

When adjourning before Christmas, the House instructed the House clerk to accept any communications — such as veto messages_ from the White House during the monthlong break.

A Democratic congressional aide pointed out that a pocket veto cannot be overridden by Congress and allows Bush to distance himself from the rejection of a major Pentagon bill in a time of war.

In a message to Congress, the president said he was sending the bill and his outline of objections to the House clerk "to avoid unnecessary litigation about the non-enactment of the bill that results from my withholding approval, and to leave no doubt that the bill is being vetoed."

Democratic aides said they have not ruled out any legislative options, including dropping the language on lawsuits against Iraq and sending the rest of the bill back to Bush.

The sponsor of the contested provision, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said the provision would allow "American victims of terror to hold perpetrators accountable — plain and simple."

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called on lawmakers to "move rapidly to fix this section" when Congress returns in January so that the underlying bill can be signed.

Democratic congressional leaders complained that Bush's move was a last-minute stunt because he had never indicated his intention to veto the bill.

Bush aides said they had signaled concern about the controversial provision for weeks, although there had been no formal veto threat. They said their concern grew urgent recently after a legal review and feedback from U.S. diplomats in Iraq and Iraqi leaders.

The disputed section of the bill would reshape Iraq's immunity to lawsuits, exposing the new government to litigation in U.S. courts stemming from treatment of Americans in Iraq during Saddam's reign. Even cases that had once been rejected could be refiled.

Bush's aides warned of a dire scenario — a rush of litigation that could freeze tens of billions of dollars in Iraqi assets being held in U.S. banks. Money at the heart of the Iraqi rebuilding effort would be tied up in court, potentially halting the very stabilization efforts that could get U.S. troops home faster, the aides said.

Yet Democrats fumed that Bush could have worked out the technical fix sooner if he had wanted, without rejecting an entire bill that contains extra help and money for troops.

Existence of "Camp 7" Secret Guantamo unit/other items/CLG

Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government

08 Dec 2007

http://www.legitgov.org/

All items are here:

http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news

Lawyers Reveal Existence of 'Camp 7' Secret Guantánamo Detention Unit --Prisoner says subjected to "state-sanctioned torture" in secret C.I.A. prisons 09 Dec 2007 The first of the so-called high value Guantánamo prisoners to have seen a lawyer claims he was subjected to "state-sanctioned torture" while in secret C.I.A. prisons, and he has asked for a court order barring the government from destroying evidence of his treatment. The request, in a filing by his lawyers, was made on Nov. 29, before officials from the Central Intelligence Agency acknowledged that the agency had destroyed videotapes of interrogations of two 'Qaeda' operatives that current and former officials said included the use of harsh techniques torture. Lawyers for the prisoner, Majid Khan, claim he "was subjected to an aggressive C.I.A. detention and interrogation program notable for its elaborate planning and ruthless application of torture" to numerous detainees. The documents also suggest that Mr. Khan and other high-value prisoners are now being held in a previously undisclosed area of the Guantánamo prison he called Camp 7.

Inquiry Begins Into Torture Tapes' Destruction 09 Dec 2007 The Justice Department and the Central Intelligence Agency’s internal watchdog on Saturday launched a joint preliminary inquiry into the spy agency’s destruction of hundreds of hours of videotapes showing interrogations of [alleged] top operatives of Al Qaeda. The announcement comes amid new questions about which officials inside the C.I.A. were involved in the decision to destroy the videotapes, which depicted severe interrogation methods torture used on two Qaeda suspects, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.

'We haven't seen anything like this since the 18½ -minute gap on the tapes of Richard Nixon.' Democrats Call for Inquiry in Destruction of Tapes by C.I.A. 07 Dec 2007 Angry Democratic lawmakers called for investigations today into the Central Intelligence Agency’s destruction in 2005 of at least two videotapes documenting the interrogation torture of two [alleged] Qaeda operatives in the agency’s custody. Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts accused the C.I.A. of "a cover-up," while Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois said it was possible that people at the agency had engaged in obstruction of justice. Both called on Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate.

C.I.A. Was Urged to Keep Interrogation Videotapes 08 Dec 2007 White House and Justice Department officials, along with senior members of Congress, advised the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 against a plan to destroy hundreds of hours of videotapes showing the interrogations of two operatives of 'Al Qaeda,' government officials said Friday. The chief of the agency’s clandestine service nevertheless ordered their destruction in November 2005, taking the step without notifying even the C.I.A.’s own top lawyer, John A. Rizzo, the officials said. [Yeah, right!]

Bush Does Not Recall Learning of Destroyed CIA Tapes --Senate's Second-Ranking Democrat Calls for Justice Dept. Probe 07 Dec 2007 President [sic] Bush does not recall being informed before yesterday morning about the existence or subsequent destruction of video recordings showing harsh CIA interrogations torture of terrorism suspects, the White House said today. The recordings, which CIA Director Michael V. Hayden disclosed yesterday had been made in 2002 but destroyed three years later, set off a furor on Capitol Hill today, with the Senate's second-ranking Democrat demanding a Justice Department investigation. Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the Senate majority whip, called for the probe in a letter to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey. He urged Mukasey to investigate "whether CIA officials who destroyed these videotapes and withheld information about their existence from official proceedings violated the law." [Well, waterboard him until he *does* recall.]

Military Lost Track of Equipment In Iraq Worth Millions, Audit Says 08 Dec 2007 Pentagon auditors said they could not account for millions of dollars worth of rocket-propelled grenades, armored vehicles, ammunition and other supplies and equipment, because of inadequate paperwork and a lack of oversight personnel. A report released Thursday by the Defense Department's inspector general looked at $5.2 billion in the Iraq Security Forces Fund, which is part of the $44.5 billion U.S. 'reconstruction' effort in Iraq.

State Dept. retains manager of troubled embassy project 06 Dec 2007 A State Department project manager banished from Iraq by the U.S. ambassador and under scrutiny by the Justice Department continues to oversee the construction of the much-delayed new American embassy in Baghdad from nearby Kuwait, State Department officials disclosed Thursday. James L. Golden, a contract employee, is still managing the $740 million project, said Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy, the department's top management official.

House Democrats Close to Deal on War Funds --DemocRATs Would Drop Iraq Timeline 08 Dec 2007 House Democratic leaders could complete work as soon as Monday on a half-trillion-dollar spending package that will include billions of dollars for the war effort in Iraq without the timelines for the withdrawal of combat forces that President [sic] Bush has refused to accept, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said yesterday. If the bargain were to become law, it would be the third time since DemocRATs took control of Congress that they would have failed to force Bush to change course in Iraq and continued to fund a war that they have repeatedly vowed to end.

Now and Forever By Bob Herbert 08 Dec 2007 A report prepared for the Democratic majority on the Joint Economic Committee of the House and Senate warns that without a significant change of course in Iraq, the long-term cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could head into the vicinity of $3.5 trillion. The vast majority of those expenses would be for Iraq... President [sic] Bush’s formal funding requests for Iraq have already exceeded $600 billion... Youngsters who were just starting high school when the U.S. invaded Iraq are in college now. Their children, yet unborn, will be called on to fork over tax money to continue paying for the war. Seriously. How long do we want this madness to last?

Blackwater probe narrows focus to guards 08 Dec 2007 Federal prosecutors investigating the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians have narrowed their focus on as few as three Blackwater Worldwide bodyguards and have given others immunity for cooperating in the case, The Associated Press has learned. Blackwater is paying one law firm to represent as many as 10 guards, raising concerns that their stories could be coordinated.

State Dept. Inspector General Resigns --Krongard was accused of impeding Blackwater investigation 07 Dec 2007 The State Department's embattled inspector general, Howard J. Krongard, announced today that he is resigning effective Jan. 15, ending a tumultuous tenure in which he was accused of impeding investigations of the Blackwater security firm and construction problems at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

Suicide bomber strikes Iraqi oil hub 08 Dec 2007 A suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden truck filled with sand struck a police station north of Baghdad on Saturday, the latest in a week of bombings that have killed nearly 80 people. The truck was allowed through the main gate of the complex in Beiji, the site of Iraq's largest refinery, after the driver told the guards he was delivering the sand to a construction site inside.

Bomber Kills 11 at Police Station in Northern Iraq 09 Dec 2007 A suicide truck bomber killed 11 people in an attack on a police station in the northern Iraqi town of Baiji, Iraqi security forces said on Saturday. Seven of the people killed in the 9 a.m. attack Saturday were policemen. The explosion wounded 44 other people, damaged 15 houses and set fire to 13 vehicles, said Capt. Sherzad Abdullah Zinga, of the Iraqi Army’s Fourth Division.

Iran: U.S. used spies to get nuke info 08 Dec 2007 Iran has sent a formal protest note to Washington for "spying" on Iran's nuclear activities, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Saturday. The note was handed over to the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which looks after U.S. interests in Iran in the absence of diplomatic relations between Tehran and Washington, the state IRNA news agency said.

Iran drops dollar from oil deals: report 08 Dec 2007 Major crude producer Iran has completely stopped carrying out its oil transactions in dollars, Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said on Saturday, labelling the greenback an "unreliable" currency. "At the moment, selling oil in dollars has been completely halted, in line with the policy of selling crude in non-dollar currencies," Nozari was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency. [A(nother) illegal Bush invasion is surely on the way.]

Gates says Iran still a threat [Never as big of a threat as Bush, though.] 08 Dec 2007 Iran poses a threat to the United States and the Middle East despite a U.S. intelligence assessment that Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Saturday.

Gates says Iran seeks to cause chaos 08 Dec 2007 Pentagon chief Robert Gates lashed out at Iran on Saturday for seeking to cause chaos "everywhere you turn" regardless of the blood spilled and said its neighbors must demand that Tehran renounce any intention of pursuing nuclear weapons.

Review of Iran Intelligence to Be Sought --As Conservatives Reject New NIE, Republican Senators to Urge Congressional Panel 07 Dec 2007 Senate Republicans are planning to call for a congressional commission to investigate the conclusions of the new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran as well as the specific intelligence that went into it, according to congressional sources. The move is the first official challenge, but it comes amid growing backlash from conservatives and neoconservatives unhappy about the assessment that Iran halted a clandestine nuclear weapons program four years ago.

And then there was one: four British residents freed from Guantánamo --Foreign Office took up cases after policy change --Amnesty questions why one man must stay in jail 08 Dec 2007 Four British residents held without charge at the American detention camp for suspected terrorists at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba are to be released, reducing the UK involvement with the camp to just one inmate.

42-day detention plan attacked as constitutionally illiterate 08 Dec 2007 Proposals to extend the limit for pre-charge detention to 42 days are "constitutionally illiterate" as well as dangerous, critics warned yesterday, because proper parliamentary scrutiny would confuse the roles of MPs and judges. The home secretary would have to notify parliament within two days of granting the 42-day limit, with MPs approving the decision within 30 days.

Hill-bullies May Bring US Four More Years of GOP Rule --The Rec Report Revised! --By Michael Rectenwald 08 Mar 2007 Hill-bullies are not exclusive to Faux and Raunch. Chris Matthews, the otherwise floundering middleweight chameleon, has a special, heavyweight hankering for Hillary hate. His animus appears to be especially personal, as if she's somehow slighted him, or refused him a date... If we continue to join in all those rein-in-Hillary games of the right, we might just end up with Rudolph or Huckabee.

'We need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague.' Huckabee wanted to isolate AIDS patients 08 Dec 2007 Mike Huckabee once advocated isolating AIDS patients from the general public, opposed increased federal funding in the search for a cure and said homosexuality could "pose a dangerous public health risk." As a candidate for a U.S. Senate seat in 1992, Huckabee answered 229 questions submitted to him by The Associated Press. Besides a quarantine, Huckabee suggested that Hollywood celebrities fund AIDS research from their own pockets, rather than federal health agencies. "If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague," Huckabee wrote.

White House threatens budget veto 08 Dec 2007 The White House on Saturday threatened to veto a massive spending bill being assembled by congressional Democrats, saying it's unacceptable to add billions of dollars to domestic programs. [Right, if the money is not for Bush's torture and slaughter of people all over the world, it's a no-go. --LRP]

Bush's Bad Mortgage Medicine By Liz Moyer 07 Dec 2007 The Bush Administration's plan to rescue the housing market and keep the economy from slipping into recession took flak yesterday for freezing interest rate hikes for a mere fraction of subprime, adjustable-rate borrowers. But there's a bigger risk: It could deepen and lengthen the credit crisis. According to analysis by Barclays Capital, the "freezer-teaser" plan applies to just 240,000 subprime loans.

Edwards condemns NAFTA 08 Dec 2007 Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards said Saturday he wants to replace the empty promise that NAFTA would create millions of jobs with his own promise to be a tough negotiator on trade deals.

Thousands join climate march 08 Dec 2007 Thousands of climate change protesters took their campaign to cut carbon emissions to the streets as they issued a stark warning of impending catastrophe to global leaders. The activists demonstrated across the UK to highlight a UN convention on climate change being held in Bali, Indonesia.

Leave animals alone, Inuit hunters tell scientists --Half the polar bear population of Davis Strait has been bothered over the last three years, Inuit hunters say 06 Dec 2007 ...Glenn Williams, a former wildlife officer and consultant to Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., says over the last three years, polar bears in the Davis Strait were tranquilized 2,371 times. About half the entire population of 2,100 bears was at one time chased down by helicopter and shot with a dart containing a small explosive charge that drives the drug into the bear.

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[Previous lead stories:] Israel considering strike on Iran despite US intelligence report 07 Dec 2007 Senior Israeli officials warned today they were still considering the option of a military strike against Iran, despite a fresh US intelligence report that concluded Tehran was no longer developing nuclear weapons. Although Israel argues that it wants to see strong diplomatic pressure put on Iran, it is reluctant to rule out the threat of a unilateral military attack. Matan Vilnai, Israel's deputy defence minister, told Army Radio today: "No option needs to be off the table."

Israeli officials reject U.S. findings on Iran 04 Dec 2007 Israeli officials, who've been warning that Iran would soon pose a nuclear threat to the world, reacted angrily Tuesday to a new U.S. intelligence finding that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons development program in 2003 and to date hasn't resumed trying to produce nuclear weapons. Defense Minister Ehud Barak directly challenged the new assessment in an interview with Israel's Army Radio, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the new finding wouldn't deter Israel or the United States from pressing its campaign to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability.

Pentagon plans unchanged by Iran report: general 07 Dec 2007 A U.S. intelligence assessment that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 has had no effect on Pentagon planning, a senior U.S. military officer said on Friday. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John Sattler, director for strategic plans and policy on the U.S. military's Joint Staff, said officials were still digesting the National Intelligence Estimate released on Monday.

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CLG Newsletter editor: Lori Price, Manager. Copyright © 2007, Citizens For Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved. CLG Founder and Chair is Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D.