[Peace-discuss] Pentagon Making ‘Emergency Plan’ to Keep War Going

[C. G. Estabrook]

[Warmongering presidents back to (at least) Lincoln have schemed to keep their 
wars financed in the face of recalcitrant Congresses and the explicit provisions 
of the Constitution (art. 1, sect. 8). I have no doubt Obama will do the same if 
we force a Congressional cut-off of funds for the Mideast war, but it's still 
the principal legal avenue available for stopping the war. Our own senators are 
of course safe votes for war - Durbin may even become majority leader next year 
- and the voters of Illinois are not offered a choice on the matter in the fall 
election for senator: both major parties feature hacks who will support the war. 
  Some democracy.  We can (and should) vote Green, but in the absence of a real 
public debate on the matter we'll get a pro-war Republican or Democrat. --CGE]

	Pentagon Making ‘Emergency Plan’ to Keep War Going
	Without Additional Funds
	Spokesman Warns Lack of Emergency Funds
	'Extraordinarily Disruptive' [sic]
	by Jason Ditz, July 14, 2010

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell says that the Defense Department is developing 
an “emergency plan” to keep the Afghan and Iraq Wars going without the 
additional funds the department has sought in the emergency war funding 
supplemental, which still hasn’t passed

“Needless to say, all of this is extraordinarily disruptive to the department,” 
Morrell insisted, “we’re sadly getting used to this fire drill.” [IT'S ABOUT 
TIME TO SET THOSE ARCHAIC CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS ASIDE AND LET THE PRESIDENT 
GET ON WITH HIS KILLING --CGE] The administration is seeking upwards of $33 
billion in additional war funds in the emergency bill.

The House of Representatives passed war funding in a series of convoluted 
procedural votes, but made changes to the Senate version, sending it back to the 
Senate for reconciliation. The Senate has yet to debate the changes, but Sen. 
Reid says he expects them to do so before the August recess.

Yet the Defense Department had initially sought it before the July 4 recess, and 
Congressional leaders had said they expected to be able to deliver. Though in 
practice much of Congress is unwilling to oppose additional war funding under 
any circumstances, there have been a number of attempts to piggyback more and 
more domestic spending on the war bill, andit has delayed the process considerably.

http://news.antiwar.com/2010/07/14/pentagon-making-emergency-plan-to-keep-war-going-without-additional-funds/