United We Stand?

On the day when the Pentagon announced American military deaths had reached 2500 in Iraq, the republican controlled House of Representatives dishonored the memory of those troops by bringing to the floor a political document intended to further politicize the so-called war on terror. What could be worse than that?........42 House Democrats caved in to the bully on the playground and voted to accept Karl Rove's call to endorse this endless war! What could be worse than that?........My own representative, Rick Larsen (d-WA,2nd CD) was one of those 42 votes! Adam Smith was the other Washington State democrat to vote Aye.

So what important new thing did the republicans want to say about Iraq this week?


RESOLUTION
Declaring that the United States will prevail in the Global War on Terror, the struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary.

Whereas the United States and its allies are engaged in a Global War on Terror, a long and demanding struggle against an adversary that is driven by hatred of American values and that is committed to imposing, by the use of terror, its repressive ideology throughout the world;

Whereas for the past two decades, terrorists have used violence in a futile attempt to intimidate the United States;

Whereas it is essential to the security of the American people and to world security that the United States, together with its allies, take the battle to the terrorists and to those who provide them assistance;

Whereas the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and other terrorists failed to stop free elections in Afghanistan and the first popularly-elected President in that nation's history has taken office;

Whereas the continued determination of Afghanistan, the United States, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will be required to sustain a sovereign, free, and secure Afghanistan;

Whereas the steadfast resolve of the United States and its partners since September 11, 2001, helped persuade the government of Libya to surrender its weapons of mass destruction;

Whereas by early 2003 Saddam Hussein and his criminal, Ba'athist regime in Iraq, which had supported terrorists, constituted a threat against global peace and security and was in violation of mandatory United Nations Security Council Resolutions;

Whereas the mission of the United States and its Coalition partners, having removed Saddam Hussein and his regime from power, is to establish a sovereign, free, secure, and united Iraq at peace with its neighbors;

Whereas the terrorists have declared Iraq to be the central front in their war against all who oppose their ideology;

Whereas the Iraqi people, with the help of the United States and other Coalition partners, have formed a permanent, representative government under a newly ratified constitution;

Whereas the terrorists seek to destroy the new unity government because it threatens the terrorists' aspirations for Iraq and the broader Middle East;

Whereas United States Armed Forces, in coordination with Iraqi security forces and Coalition and other friendly forces, have scored impressive victories in Iraq including finding and killing the terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi;

Whereas Iraqi security forces are, over time, taking over from United States and Coalition forces a growing proportion of independent operations and increasingly lead the fight to secure Iraq;

Whereas the United States and Coalition servicemembers and civilians and the members of the Iraqi security forces and those assisting them who have made the ultimate sacrifice or been wounded in Iraq have done so nobly, in the cause of freedom; and

Whereas the United States and its Coalition partners will continue to support Iraq as part of the Global War on Terror: Now, therefore, be it


Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) honors all those Americans who have taken an active part in the Global War on Terror, whether as first responders protecting the homeland, as servicemembers overseas, as diplomats and intelligence officers, or in other roles;

(2) honors the sacrifices of the United States Armed Forces and of partners in the Coalition, and of the Iraqis and Afghans who fight alongside them, especially those who have fallen or been wounded in the struggle, and honors as well the sacrifices of their families and of others who risk their lives to help defend freedom;

(3) declares that it is not in the national security interest of the United States to set an arbitrary date for the withdrawal or redeployment of United States Armed Forces from Iraq;

(4) declares that the United States is committed to the completion of the mission to create a sovereign, free, secure, and united Iraq;

(5) congratulates Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and the Iraqi people on the courage they have shown by participating, in increasing millions, in the elections of 2005 and on the formation of the first government under Iraq's new constitution;

(6) calls upon the nations of the world to promote global peace and security by standing with the United States and other Coalition partners to support the efforts of the Iraqi and Afghan people to live in freedom; and

(7) declares that the United States will prevail in the Global War on Terror, the noble struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary.

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So let's get this straight - Larsen and Smith agree with the republicans that Iraq is in fact a front in the so-called war on terror. They agree that Iraq was a threat to global security and that the Saddam Hussein regime was supporting terrorists and they also believe we cannot leave until Iraq is "sovereign, free, secure, and united."

Over the course of ten hours of a unity rarely seen in five years, Democrat after Democrat came to the floor of the House to let the republicans know that they are done being called unpatriotic for asking for genuine oversight of Bush's war of choice in Iraq. From John Murtha to Nancy Pelosi to Barbara Lee to Jim McDermott to NORM DICKS, the House Democrats started showing real spine and cohesiveness as a caucus to tell the House bullies that their regime of political terror was coming to an end. There was agreement that indeed Iraq had never posed any threat to this country; that there was no evidence of ties to any terrorist organization; that Bush had lied and manipulated data to take this country into a war of choice. They agreed that the only link to the so-called war on terror is the one Bush created with his invasion of that country. One after one they exalted John Murtha for speaking truth to power and embraced his plan for re-deployment of our troops from combat positions in Iraq.

In response to this challenge to their non-binding political ploy, the republican bullies repeated the Rovian lines of "Support our Troops" and "Don't Cut and Run". The contrast could not have been any clearer and yet.......In the morning's light, Larsen and Smith parted with 149 Democrats, 3 Republicans and Independent Bernie Sanders to join 214 republicans and 40 of their fellow democrats in saying to those troops who have made and who continue to make the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq, "You will be rewarded by slogans and bullshit in the People's House".


Peace,

Chad (The Left) Shue