[Peace-discuss] Fw: House Stands Firm on Afghanistan Withdrawal Timetable

[C. G. Estabrook]

Nonsense.  This is a good example of what was called - when I was growing up in 
Virgina - "Whistling 'Dixie'."


On 7/2/10 9:56 PM, unionyes wrote:
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: <moderator at PORTSIDE.ORG>
> To: <PORTSIDE at LISTS.PORTSIDE.ORG>
> Sent: Friday, July 02, 2010 9:10 PM
> Subject: House Stands Firm on Afghanistan Withdrawal Timetable
>
>
>> House Stands Firm on Afghanistan Withdrawal Timetable
>>
>> Tom Hayden |
>> July 2, 2010
>> Published on The Nation
>> http://www.thenation.com/article/36993/house-stands-firm-afghanistan-withdrawal-timetable
>>
>>
>> One hundred sixty-two House members, including a large
>> majority of Democrats, sent a significant antiwar
>> message to President Obama last night, forcing the
>> White House to depend for Afghanistan war support on
>> the Republicans who want to unseat the Democrats and
>> Obama himself in upcoming elections.
>>
>> Despite claims by punditry that the antiwar movement
>> has disappeared, stalwart Representative Barbara Lee
>> gained 100 votes for her amendment rejecting $33
>> billion for 30,000 new troops already being sent to
>> Afghanistan. Seven of her votes were Republicans. The
>> measure would have redirected the $33 billion to
>> expenses incurred in redeploying the troops out of
>> Afghanistan.
>>
>> More significant numerically, there were 162 votes cast
>> for Representative Jim McGovernâ?Ts amendment, co-
>> authored by representatives David Obey and Walter
>> Jones, which articulated a game plan for ending the
>> war. Only a year ago, the same measure was introduced
>> as a general and non-binding resolution. This time the
>> proposal required, as a condition of funding, an exit
>> proposal including a withdrawal timetable, by next
>> spring, before the presidentâ?Ts announced plan to
>> "begin" withdrawals in July. Further, in response to
>> rising pressure to delay withdrawals, the McGovern
>> proposal would require another Congressional vote if
>> the administration succumbed to pressure from
>> Republicans and the military to delay the beginning
>> departure date.
>>
>> Among Democrats, the vote for McGovern was 153-98, with
>> nine Republican supporters. Significantly, Speaker
>> Nancy Pelosi, who this week predicted a strong
>> Democratic push for a "substantial drawdown" by next
>> year, voted with McGovern.
>>
>> Beltway-based peace groups were surprised by the
>> outcome. "All in all, we did better than I expected,"
>> blogged Paul Kawika-Martin of Peace Action as the
>> televised vote rolled across the CSPAN screen.
>>
>> Though the war will escalate as a result of the final
>> vote, the opponents sent a powerful message to the
>> president and newly confirmed Gen. David Petraeus that
>> antiwar pressure will only increase in the period
>> ahead, adding important pressure for the July 2011
>> deadline to be maintained and clarified by a timeline
>> for completion, as originally proposed by Senator Russ
>> Feingold.
>>
>> The message is sure to reinforce the belief in the
>> Karzai administration, the Pakistan government and
>> among NATO allies that time is running out, thus giving
>> an impetus for accelerating talks with the Taliban.
>>
>> The escalating offensive in southern Afghanistan will
>> continue apace, with uncertain results.
>>
>> The Taliban may misread the message from Congress,
>> however, and overplay their hand. Their strength lies
>> in southern Pashtun communities in southern Afghanistan
>> and Pakistan, suggesting that their future lies in a
>> negotiated power-sharing arrangment with the northern
>> tribes and warlords they fought in the civil war nearly
>> a decade ago. The McGovern proposal foreshadows a
>> scenario of peace diplomacy that stabilizes a deeply
>> divided country.
>>
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