27 Comments so far

1. Joe013 February 2nd, 2007 2:14 pm

   I wonder if this new bill is anything like HR 508 in the House?

2. Maria February 2nd, 2007 2:43 pm

   It looks as what Mr. Feingold has proposed is contained in HR 508. HR 508 also provides for - after the 6 month period ends - no US government or private contracts vis-a-vis Iraqi oil, provides for no military bases and limits the number of US embassy employees in Baghdad to 500. The bill is lengthy, but these are the highlights.

3. Vince Lawrence February 2nd, 2007 2:58 pm

   Just left a comment on the Featherstone piece similar to what I’m going to say here. I hope Senator Feingold will come here and look at these comments.

   Senator I admire you more than almost any other Senator now sitting. Your dedication to principle, honesty, and justice give me hope that America still has some true statesmen. But what will all of these fine qualities avail you if they are ineffective at attaining those results you and I desire?

   Yes, the Congress certainly has the right and responsibility and the Constitutional authority to defund war. But at this precise moment such a proposal will not garner the consensus that is needed now, at this moment.

   I urge you to support the current compromise resolution - AS A FIRST STEP. To use a sports analogy; how can we put the ball through the hoop if we can’t get in our end of the court?

   The compromise resolution is just that, a compromise. All politics is the art of compromise. You are experienced enough to fully understand that. Don’t be bluffed by what that sneering cynical criminal Dick Chaney says. His approval ratings are even lower that Bush’s, it that even possible.

   Support this thing and get it passed, AS A FIRST STEP, and put the ball in the Administration’s court. If you can accomplish this and BushCo remains adamant this will further erode their support among Americans at large and among all our elected representatives, regardless of party affiliation.

   Like Cat Stevens said “I know it’s hard to be quiet when you’ve found something going on” but now is the time to temper your sensibilities with some political savvy. We can’t finish this if we can’t even get started.

4. K. Wallace February 2nd, 2007 3:14 pm

   Last week Vice President Cheney was asked… the full Senate would deter the president from escalating the war. He replied: “It’s not going to stop us.”

   He is referring to the Presidents ability to use his power of veto and now that war was declared by Congress his wartime executive powers bestowed on him as commander in chief.

   Yesterday, I introduced legislation that will prohibit the use of funds to continue the deployment of U.S. forces in Iraq six months after enactment. By prohibiting funds after a specific deadline, Congress can force the president to bring our forces out of Iraq and out of harm’s way.

   Once again this can be vetoed and then the filibuster can do the rest of the dirty work.

   This legislation will allow the president adequate time to redeploy our troops safely from Iraq, and it will make specific exceptions for a limited number of U.S. troops who must remain in Iraq to conduct targeted counter-terrorism and training missions and protect U.S. personnel. It will not hurt our troops in any way—they will continue receiving their equipment, training, salaries, etc. It will simply prevent the president from continuing to deploy them to Iraq. By passing this bill, we can finally focus on repairing our military and countering the full range of threats that we face around the world.

   Based on what data? This sounds like partisan rhetoric and politically motivated actions NOT what our soldiers need to have happen. The Generals in charge are stating they need more boots on the ground, and if you remember, what the planners of this war have been browbeat for, was not budgeting enough dollars or sending enough soldiers in the first place. If you look at the data honestly you would realize that we have 30,000 pairs of boots in the theater and the 21,500 being sent to Iraq currently are coming from those numbers. In the beginning of this war we started with approximately 175,000 soldiers in the theater and NONE in Iraq and in retrospect these proportions have just changed and not the true number of new soldiers being placed into the theater.

   If Congress was genuinely concerned they MUST consider the backlash of these aforementioned statements:
   1. The vacuum that pulling out (or planning to) would create in the country of Iraq and the region with Al Qaeda, Iran, Hezbollah, Syria, Turkey, and Kurdish fighters being present.
   2. The needs of the Iraqi people and their desire for peace, freedoms granted by a constitution, Sovereignty and, the prosperity promised to them by the US.

   After all, their voter turnout was by far more successful than ours could even hope for despite the dangers that awaited them at the voting booths. By all means it should be in the best interest of ALL parties to put aside election year politics and do the truly HUMANE thing and let the military minds end this conflict and the State Department foster Regional Solidarity. Once the military ends a conflict it has historically turned into a Civil Servant for those harmed by the conflict and helped with such things as infrastructure rebuilding, security, providing basic needs, and training to help the NEW government as they see fit for their people’s SOVEREIGNTY. War is good, bad and UGLY but sometimes necessary and should be completed as HUMANELY as possible and NOT done with TOTAL SELFISHNESS. For the love of our SONS & DAUGHTERS who have sacrificed themselves (BY YOUR ACTIONS ALSO) for the betterment of the Iraqi people, the Gulf region States, and hopefully the very people you represent as a Congressional Figurehead.

5. observer February 2nd, 2007 4:14 pm

   Feingold’s almost lonely position in Democratic Congress is a pathetic comment on the state of our Union. Why Senator Feingold must explain the clearest sentences of Article 1 of American Constitution? Why he has to bring the whole list of precedents? Do Senators and Congresspersons unlearned to read and comprehend?

   What do you do with schoolchildren who cannot read? You do not promote them to the next grade. What do you do with Congresspersons who cannot read? You demote them: nay, you impeach them. For impeachment is not limited to high official’s crime and misdemeanor; it is instrument for removal incompetents in the time of emergency, when there is no time to wait for self-cleaning service, a.k.a. elections.

   Now is such an emergency time.

6. observer February 2nd, 2007 4:35 pm

   To K. Wallace, who said “For the love of our SONS & DAUGHTERS who have sacrificed themselves for the betterment of the Iraqi people, the Gulf region States…” What a country!

   One can shamelessly profess love to “our SONS & DAUGHTERS”, who, in fact, are somebody else’s SONS & DAUGHTERS, and keep one’s claim to patriotism?

   SONS & DAUGHTERS were fooled into joining US army as mercenaries; SONS & DAUGHTERS were even more fooled by being sent half a globe away to kill foreign babies and to be killed in response. SONS & DAUGHTERS are plain pawns in imperial game and could not possibly be used as excuse for inaction.

   The presence of our troops in Iraq and by ‘our’ I mean that we and not Busheviks are paying for them, the presence of our troops in Iraq is killing our Republic and advance yoke of Empire with every passing day.

   Now is the time to act.

7. Maria February 2nd, 2007 4:45 pm

   I urge Senator Feingold to pressure his spineless colleagues in the Senate and House to demand impeachment proceedings to begin immediately in the House. Bush, Cheney and the rest of the cabal must be removed and since impeachment is the only legal way I’m aware of to do so, then this must happen - now. Nothing matters to these neocons, not the will of the people, not elections, not our democratic republic - nothing. To them the elections didn’t happen. The last 6 years have proven to them that they can get away with anything - because they have. Their purpose remains as it has always been - to turn this country into an imperial empire that will dominate the globe and enrich their corporate campaign contributors. And that means the end of our country as we know it. American Fascism - the perfect marriage of rapacious corporate interests, servile government to do its bidding with dominionist fundamentalism to give them cover with the masses - is a reality and a growing threat to our way of life.

8. cbjr1999 February 2nd, 2007 5:02 pm

   On the one hand, Sen. Feingold is the only voice in Congress worth listening to. On the other hand, I think the Congress need to go deeper.

   After the elections in November, 2006, the main question was, “how can the damage wrought by GWB be reversed”? My answer then was simple, “Start by reversing his policies”.

   I’ll give you one even better. Start by introducing legislation to immediately rescind the AUMF, as I’ve read a couple of times in the last few days. The article went on to say that Congress gave the president a blank check by granting him the authority to use the military as he sees fit!

   Congress should review the analogy of Dr. Frankenstein and the monster he created. By Congress ending the AUMF, GWB will be stopped dead in his tracks. If Congress doesn’t reverse this regulation NOW, we will be at war with Iran this time next month!!

9. blessthebeasts February 2nd, 2007 5:23 pm

   Thank you Senator, for your continuing courage and leadership. Unfortunately, this administration has blatantly told us they don’t have to follow our laws or even our Constitution. The only way out of this nightmare is to cut off the head(s) of this snake. They have most certainly committed high crimes and misdemeanors against us, and many felonies too.

10. namvet67 February 2nd, 2007 5:55 pm

    It’s the whole political system that needs to be changed, not just ending the war or getting rid of bush. Our empire has a figurehead. Just replacing him won’t change anything.
    Hoa Binh

11. richw February 3rd, 2007 1:54 am

    http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0202-06.htm
    Here’s a guy who knows what’s likely to happen, I go along with his analysis.
    The time to Impeach Bush and company is long gone. The USA is history, we Americans are dead in the water and the Evil Empire is in full command.
    Who controls the Att’y Gen’l, Secret Service,CIA, FBI, Pentagon and all the other law people. The worlds biggest criminal does, that’s who.
    Why is the information held by half our nation so much greater than that our politicians seem to be aware of?
    Our newly empowered Democrats are standing on the starting line of a 100 meter dash wearing a coat and tie waiting for someone to tie their shoes. They are lost in a pool of stagnated ignorance.
    I would be so happy to enlighten them as would many others. They don’t want that though. They want to secure a slot in the Empires business so they dare not cause too many ripples now.
    “Speaker of the House”, good lord, my dog is several IQ points ahead of her.

12. Ray Kondrasuk February 3rd, 2007 2:57 am

    A sketch line from Public Radio’s Prairie Home Companion went something like, “Of course we need to spend more on our military, dear! We’re creating more and more enemies all the time!”

    Ray Kondrasuk
    Eau Claire, Wisconsin
    kondra@charter.net

13. Lobo Gris February 3rd, 2007 5:05 am

    To K Wallace:

    “He is referring to the Presidents ability to use his power of veto and now that war was declared by Congress his wartime executive powers bestowed on him as commander in chief.”

    Are you a spokesman for Cheney?

    If you are or not I would remind you that Cheney has been 100% wrong about everything about the Iraq war. To paraphrase; From We will be greeted as liberators to The enemy is in their last throes. With that record I see absolutely no reason why anyone should put any stock in anything he has to say about the war or much else for that matter.

    I will certainly grant you that Bush could veto anything passed by the Democrats only and the Republicans could possibly filibuster in the Senate. However if that happens I will predict further losses for the Republicans in 2008. Are the rest of the Republicans in the Senate and House ready to risk that to try to salvage the failed policies of a failed president who is not eligible for re-election?

    “This sounds like partisan rhetoric and politically motivated actions NOT what our soldiers need to have happen.”

    Based on what? Because it doesn’t agree with perpetuating a failed policy that kills other peoples children and will continue to kill them without ever achieving any measurable objective other than salvaging Bush’s and the Neocon’s egos. Salvaging their egos by allowing them to claim they didn’t lose because they didn’t retreat even though all that means is that they refused to alter a failed idea, policy and mission.

    “If Congress was genuinely concerned they MUST consider the backlash of these aforementioned statements:
    1. The vacuum that pulling out (or planning to) would create in the country of Iraq and the region with Al Qaeda, Iran, Hezbollah, Syria, Turkey, and Kurdish fighters being present.

    Says who? The ones trying to perpetuate a failed policy to salvage their ego?

    2. The needs of the Iraqi people and their desire for peace, freedoms granted by a constitution, Sovereignty and, the prosperity promised to them by the US.”

    Lol, the Iraqis never asked us to invade their country. The vast majority of them don’t want us there, and a majority now believe that they were better off under Saddam Hussein than they have been since the U.S. invasion.

    All of the above should have been considered before the fact, not after. A lesson that should have been learned from Viet Nam, but wasn’t by those now making the decisions that didn’t participate then and whose children don’t participate now.

    “By all means it should be in the best interest of ALL parties to put aside election year politics” “Do the truly HUMANE thing and let the military minds end this conflict and the State Department foster Regional Solidarity”

    Just so that you know, look at the calendar. This isn’t an election year. This is post election whose results Bush and the Neocon’s are bound and determined to ignore as long as they possibly can.

    “Do the truly HUMANE thing and let the military minds end this conflict and the State Department foster Regional Solidarity”

    HUMANE? After four years of conflict that has resulted in over 3,000 needless American deaths, over 22,000 needlessly wounded (many so severely that it will affect them for the rest of their lives), untold numbers of Iraqi’s dead, wounded, maimed, and fleeing from their homes and country, the only HUMANE thing to do is drastically alter course, not try to put bandaids on a failed policy.

    “War is good, bad and UGLY but sometimes necessary”

    And by your definition just when is war good and necessary?

    What should truly be ignored in the future is people like yourself that try to justify failed ideas and policies that result in failed wars by wrapping themselves in false patriotism.

14. hscrty February 3rd, 2007 10:21 am

    Just when was war declared? As I recall congress gave “w” authorization to use force if necessary. Which I believe was unconstitutional no where is it written that Congress can shirk their duties.

    It is not to late for impeachment these criminals should be brought to justice, but one peak inside our prisons and it is easy to see our justice system is in shambles too.

15. Buckoo February 3rd, 2007 11:30 am

    It has become very clear to the American People that the Iraq war is a Cheney/Bush endeavor for control of Mid East oil.

    A Mandated has been given to this Congress to STOP THIS FIASCO.

    You must in solidarity exercise the rights granted you by The Constitution and demanded by the citizens of this great Nation

16. voxclamantis February 3rd, 2007 11:42 am

    Congress could take a tip from BushCo. You don’t beg for power. You stand up and take it. Congress has as much power to change our disastrous course as it imagines itself to have. As much power as it feels itself big enough to handle. The American people just handed Congress the power to yank the money out from under the AEI’s bogus adventure, and to investigate, impeach and depose the lunatics in the White House. Now we are watching to see whether our representatives will step up to their responsibilities or remain the same “dithering poltroons” (per Ms. Huffington) as the last batch.

17. Weita February 3rd, 2007 11:58 am

    No comment, but a question.

    What good is a constitution if the President clearly violates it and the Congress is unwilling to do anything about it (plenty of charade) and most citizens do not care (while troops are at the War Americans are at the Mall.)?

18. Lenny at NoMcW.com February 3rd, 2007 4:55 pm

    Responding to hrscsty: It IS too late for impeachment. Look at the Scooter Libby trial going on - that concerns things that took place in the run-up to the war, over was five years ago.  How long would impeachment take?  The reality is we’ve got two more years of “W”, and the main thing we can do to “wage peace” is to start looking ahead to ‘08.

19. VietVet68 February 3rd, 2007 10:52 pm

    It is never too late for impeachment. There may not be enough time to conclude the process to the satisfaction of “we the angry”, but the process itself would do much to tie the hands of a meglomaniacal president (and veep).

    That said, it (impeachment) is not necessarily a “good idea”. However the threat of impeachment is a bully weapon that we ought not discard out of hand.

    It is true that our country is in a terrible place just now, and that this nation of the people, for the people, and by the people has never been in greater danger, and that danger…that threat to our representative form of government, is posed by too much power in the hands of one man. Just as our founding fathers foresaw.

    But it is not productive to wring our hands and just say “it is too late, America is destroyed”. It is our lot to have to wrestle power back from the hands of this “king George”, and to do so “within the system” and according to the law that this shameful excuse of a president has sworn to uphold, and on which he has so cavalierly trod.

    HE might consider himself above the law, but we must honor the law, because WE love the rule of law, and WE have also sworn to uphold it. Therefore WE will see to it that he upholds the law, whether he wants to or not. Or else we will see him impeached.

    This man of privelege has disgraced to office of the presidency as no sexual daliance could ever do. He has thumbed his nose at the rule of law (both national and international). And he has sullied the honor of our nation, making all of us into accomplices in torture and kidnapping.

    But we all reap what we sow, and I believe that the Last Act of “king George” is going to play out on stage much more like the classic tragedy of Macbeth, and not nearly akin to the Heroics of Mission Accomplished that this Pretend Pilot envisions for himself.

    Meanwhile, America is only “finished” if we allow it to be such. It is our job to rescue her, and the good Senator Feingold is pointing the way.

20. Uncle Buck February 4th, 2007 9:15 am

    Feingold has stood in opposition the entire time. He has remained loyal to the people when the others clearly sold out. He has earned the greatest respect of all the politicians. Now is the time to impeach them, convict them, and bury the dead in Crawford.

21. hscrty February 4th, 2007 9:28 am

    Hey everyone there is a 800 lb. gorilla in the room called OIL. the real reason we will not leave, What would happen to those pipe lines running to Kuwait?

22. Bob K. February 4th, 2007 12:43 pm

    Russ Feingold’s bill is right in so many ways. Remember, the Congress acted to defund the bloody Vietnam war in 1973, causing the U.S. military pull out completely in 1974. Critics predicted the “domino theory” would mean all of Asia would go communist; then the rest of the world would go communist. “We fight them in Vietnam, so we don’t have to fight them here,” they said.

    It didn’t happen, of course. Today, Vietnam is stable and a U.S. trading partner. If only Congress had acted sooner to stop the maniacal Dick Nixon and Henry Kissinger, hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved.

    The same rhetoric is used by the warmongers today. If we pull out, all the Middle East will fall to terrorists, they tell us. “We fight them in Iraq, so we don’t have to fight them here,” they say. This rhetoric (or bullshit, if you prefer) is even more false today than it was in the late sixties. The U.S. military occupation of Iraq is destructive, not constructive. It creates enemies and destabilizes the region. It is ugly, murderous, immoral and corrupt. The sooner it ends, the better.

    What instead? The United Nations should take a diplomatic and peacekeeping role, as they do in Bosnia. The U.S. and allies should fund reconstruction in Iraq—not through U.S. companies, but with Iraqi companies, just as the Marshall Plan rebuilt Germany with German companies after WWII. The people of Iraq have the right to choose their own government and control their own resources (oil and gas) and should not be brutalized by a foreign army and it’s puppet regime.

    Bravo, Senator Feingold.

    Bob K.

23. Lobo Gris February 4th, 2007 2:38 pm

    Hscrty said:

    “Hey everyone there is a 800 lb. gorilla in the room called OIL. the real reason we will not leave, What would happen to those pipe lines running to Kuwait?”

    The pipelines aren’t pumping much now anyway. They are consistently being blown up by the insurgents. The oil revenues that Bush and the Neocons claimed would pay for the war have never materialized because production and exports have never even reached prewar levels, which was dismal even then because of U.S. driven sanctions put in place after the first Gulf war.

    The fact that has to be faced is that Bush and the Neocons have created another Shiite Theocracy in at least the lower 2/3 of the country. The sooner our government admits that and acts accordingly the sooner Iraq will be stabilized preventing a wider conflagration in the whole Mideast. At that point oil supply revenues will stabilize and probably increase although it will be controlled by another theocracy that will be unfriendly to us. The alternative is to keep bleeding blood and treasure in a futile effort to enact George Bush’s and the Neocon’s ill conceived, ill planned dream of creating a stabile democracy in the middle of the middle east who would be so grateful to us for “liberating” them that they would supply us with endless amounts of the oil we crave while enriching Bush’s and Cheney’s oil industry friends. Of course the Saudi’s, whose Sunni led Government has always treated us reasonably well and still sits on the largest quantity exportable oil in the world will be mad about what we have created, but then we could turn to the Venezuelans who also have enormous oil reserves, but no, wait, Bush has blown it there too by supporting a coup attempt against yet another world leader that has done nothing to us. Now the Chinese have been invited in to help them further develop their oil resources. Think the Chinese and Venezuelans will share on friendly terms when supplies get tight? If you do I have another George Bush pipe dream I’ll sell you.

    Want a solution? Withdraw from Iraq as expeditiously as possible and admit that it was an ill conceived venture from the beginning. Impeach Bush and Cheney and enact a law that immediately drafts all immediate military age relatives of all lawmakers into a combat arms branch of the military anytime the U.S. enters into an armed conflict. Provide relocation money and assistance to the Sunni’s in Iraq that will be massacred if they are not moved. The purpose besides preventing a massacre of our making being to prevent the Saudi’s and other Sunni led Arab nations from intervening and widening the war. Take the money that we are spending on George’s failed pipe dream and pour it into a crash program to develop, wind power, solar energy, bio-fuels, hydrogen power and other clean renewable energy sources. Temporarily aggressively explore and drill for energy sources in our own country, including the coastline all around the U.S., develop our coal resources and shale oil the use of which is to be phased out as soon as practicably possible with development of the cleaner fuel sources mentioned above. Reinstate and expand tax credits to those who buy hybrid cars, add solar panels, better insulate their homes, and buy energy efficient appliances. Heavily tax those that buy gas guzzling vehicles and use the tax to further develop clean renewable energy sources. There are more ideas I’m sure but I think that would probably be a good start.

    Lobo Gris

24. Lobo Gris February 4th, 2007 11:34 pm

    As an addition to my previous comment: Immediately after impeaching Bush and Cheney we should force them to stand up and apologize to the world for their actions with the threat of real jail time if they refuse. If they choose jail then our next leader should apologize for our actions and vow not to repeat them.

    Think any of the real solutions will be implemented? I have another George Bush pipe dream to sell you. My guess is that the so-called “elites” in this country will continue to thrash around spending more lives and treasure for at least the next two years with the end result being the same as I described, a Shiite theocracy in at least the lower 2/3 of the country aligned with Iran. And we will be no closer to a real solution which is clean and abundant energy supplies to run our economy.

    That is if the middle east, in the midst of our thrashing around, doesn’t ignite into a general conflagration and drag everyone into WWIII.

25. bnvunusipohy December 10th, 2007 1:38 am

    titxucekasowa…

    exsuwypyvake…

26. bnhunetisopo December 11th, 2007 7:27 am

    titsavynuvyhy…

    exvakupocety…

27. bncazotekira December 26th, 2007 6:48 pm

    titrenuvewika…

    exxupevekana…

Join the discussion:

You must be logged in to post a comment. If you haven't registered yet, click here to register. (It's quick, easy and free. And we won't give your email address to anyone.)