home > by publication type > daily analysis > Battle Deferred in Congress
Email
| Prepared by: | Lionel Beehner |
|---|
The 110th U.S. Congress is in a heated battle over Iraq war policy. (AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The Democrats' failure to push forward a nonbinding resolution that would oppose President Bush’s plan to send 21,500 additional U.S. troops (WashPost) to Iraq has them accusing Republicans of trying to shelve debate on the very issue they rode to victory in last November’s midterm elections. Republicans counter that a full debate will be forthcoming but insist their alternative proposals also be submitted for consideration. At issue is the severity of the resolution’s criticism of the “surge,” as well as a proposal to forestall any future efforts to cut off funding for the war—the only binding leverage Congress retains in such matters. The result, said Joe Lieberman (IND-CT), was “a resolution of irresolution.”
The standoff reflects deep divisions on Capitol Hill over how to proceed with the Iraq War and how Congress should wield wartime powers. Nancy E. Roman, director of CFR’s Washington office, in this CFR.org Podcast says Congress holds two main levers: It can shape the public debate with its members’ statements and resolutions which serve as a “warning shot over the bow,” and it holds the power of the purse. Many experts, including CFR Adjunct Senior Fellow Noah Feldman, believe Congress should stick to oversight because a body of 535 members is “very poorly suited to laying out the order of battle.” The American Enterprise Institute’s Danielle Pletka sees nothing but politics (Daily Star) beneath the sudden upsurge in congressional interest in foreign policy, while Lawrence J. Korb at the Center for American Progress says Congress is only now doing the job it should have been doing since 9/11. “Congress can and should use its power to cut off funding for troop escalation and begin the process of redeploying troops.”
The showdown over Iraq comes at the start of budget season in Washington. President Bush has requested $145 billion to fight the war on terror, $70 billion of which will go toward wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (AP). The White House says the budget aims to erase the national deficit by 2012. But National Priorities, a budget watchdog group, says the budget will bring the total war tab in Iraq up to $456 billion. Moreover, says the New York Times, the budget includes $140 billion of “products of cold war strategic thinking” that “have outlived their rationale in a world with no superpower arms race.” This Backgrounder examines the implications of the “supplemental appropriations” so far used to fund the war.
Meanwhile, in Iraq the carnage has reached new levels, according to a recently released National Intelligence Estimate, which describes a “sea change in the character of the violence.” Take last weekend’s suicide attack in a Shiite market, which killed at least 132, making it the single-deadliest attack (CSMonitor) since the war began. Or take the recent firefight involving an Islamic cult in Najaf, which left hundreds dead and further exposed the weakness of the Iraqi forces. Despite the surge in violence, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, testifying before the Senate Armed Forces Committee, predicted U.S. forces could begin pulling out of Iraq later this year (NYT).
Weigh in on this issue by emailing CFR.org.
Global Economy in Crisis
Expert Conversations on World Events
In The Closing of the American Border, Edward Alden goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the Bush administration’s struggle to balance security and openness in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In Termites in the Trading System, Jagdish Bhagwati reveals how the rapid spread of preferential trade agreements endangers the world trading system.
America Between the Wars explores how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Twin Towers shaped the events, arguments, and politics of the world we live in today.
Complete list of CFR Books.
This report lays out a thoughtful agenda for U.S. policy toward the Democratic Republic of Congo, arguing that what happens there should matter to the United States--for humanitarian reasons as well as economic and strategic ones.
In this report, CFR Senior Fellow Michael A. Levi analyzes the potential use of deterrence in preventing terrorist groups from acquiring nuclear weapons and recommends a new approach to U.S. declaratory policy, as well as ways to improve U.S. capabilities to determine the sources of terrorist attacks.
Complete list of Council Special Reports.
This report argues that the United States must lead with domestic action on climate change and proposes a U.S. negotiating strategy for a global UN climate agreement that includes commitments from all major economies, while also promoting a less formal Partnership for Climate Cooperation that would focus the world's largest emitters on implementing aggressive emissions reductions.
This Task Force report examines changes in Latin America and in U.S. influence there, while taking account of the region's enduring importance to the United States. The Task Force offers an agenda for U.S. policy toward Latin America and identifies four critical areas that should provide the basis of a new U.S. approach.
About Independent Task Forces at CFR.
“ Minor League, Major Problems:” Charles Kupchan argues that a league of democracies would not secure cooperation among democracies and would expose the limits of the West's power and legitimacy.
To order Task Force reports, Council Special Reports, and Critical Policy Choices, please call, fax, or order online from our distributor, the Brookings Institution Press: phone +1.800.537.5487, fax +1.410.516.6998.
For information on other reports that are not for sale, or for general publications information, please call +1-212-434-9516 or email publications@cfr.org.
To request permission to reuse Council materials, please email publications@cfr.org or fax +1.212.434.9859.
Please include the complete information of the requested work—author, title, sections/pages to be copied or reprinted, and number of copies to be made—along with a brief description of where and how you would like to reuse the work.
You may also request permission for Council material through Copyright Clearance Center. For more information, please click on the link below.
Copyright 2008 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
