Posted by
Ben Amis on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 11:48:21 PM
The vote on the motion to invoke cloture to the Levin/Reed amendment failed this morning after the democratic majority forced an all-night session to debate the amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill. Sponsored by two democrats, the amendment would have forced a reduction in troop numbers in Iraq within 120 days of enactment.
I believe the two best speeches I heard this morning both came from Republicans, which combated the speeches given by the various Democrats through the night. The first would have to be Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, who challenged the Senate that the right course of action is and should be to reinforce our troops, rather than reduce them. He argued how bringing the fight to the enemy has turned around groups, having them join the Coalition when before they had been fighting with Al Qaeda. He carried a poster of his own to the floor, no doubt to counter the “Let Us Vote” sign displayed by the Democrats. The Senator’s poster quoted the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group report, stating out a retreat would be seen as a historic victory by the terrorists. He claimed that the real reason for Al Qaeda being in Iraq, instead of because of the U.S. like many of the Democrats claimed, was to stop the swift to democracy in the Middle East. Graham contested that if we were to withdraw, the terrorists would use Iraq as a type of springboard to reach the rest of the Middle East, especially Iran, who is actively supplying terrorists in Iraq with IEDs and the like.
The other best speech would have to go to Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who was visually frustrated as he told the Senate that Congress cannot act as 535 generals and infringe upon the Constitutional right of the President as the sole Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces. He had no qualms about openly declaring that Levin/Reed is nothing short of “cutting and running” and that a pull-out would allow the terrorists to exploit the ensuing civil war between the Iraqi sects. Co-sponsor of the amendment, Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, also was able to speak.
Not soon after these speeches, the remaining time prior to the scheduled cloture vote was quickly winding down, and several senators made a dash to the floor to speak for only a minute or two and ask to insert the rest of their official statements into the record. This is a usual practice in the Senate, but this particular rush included a large number of senior senators and presidential candidates including Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, Barack Obama, and Mel Martinez.
After these rushed speeches and inserts into the records, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee and the Majority and Minority Leaders spoke on the legislation. After the last speech, made by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Navada, a guest chaplain led prayer to start a new legislative day and the motion to invoke cloture was read and the vote began. After the vote, the numbers fell 52-47, falling eight votes short of the 60 votes needed to advance the bill to a vote for final passage.
My personal opinion is very much like that of Senators Graham and Craig. We can’t have Congress micromanage the war. The commanders on the ground must be the ones to make the decisions, and Congress can’t critique them, especially after it unanimously agreed to the confirmation of General Petraeus, 81-0, on the Senate floor and have officially requested a report from him in September. This order for a report went out in May, meaning we have only been waiting for this report a few months, and decided to have it completed in September. By jumping the gun, Congress is not only overriding the authority of the commanders, but they are cutting themselves short as well! They confirmed Petraeus and ordered this report and the time it would be delivered, not the Bush administration, and so Congress must shoulder the burden with the executive branch instead of blaming them for it.
Congress has to just cool its jets and wait a little while. The report, as requested, will be in shortly, and then if they feel it is necessary, Congress may legislate. They have shown us time and time again, at the majority party has, that they have grown impatient with the war as a whole and are ready to pull out. Yet, if they don't want to respect the disgression of the military commands on the ground, they should at least respect their own decisions and policies and let this report be compiled and reviewed before the decide to take any further posthaste action at all concerning the war.