Congress and Iraq

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July 2008
- US Expands Visa Program for Iraqis Tenfold
  
  newser | New York Times | 5 hours, 39 minutes ago
  
  The US embassy in Baghdad announced a major expansion of its visa program for Iraqi employees of the American government, raising tenforld the number of work permits it currently offers. The move is the latest step by the Bush administration to answer criticism that it has neglected the Iraqis, particularly translators and supervisors, whose lives have been endangered because of their association with the US, the New York Times reports. More »
- Iraqi Visits: Much Ado but Few Epiphanies
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jul 18, 08 11:45 AM CDT
  
  Lawmakers have been flocking to Iraq to assess the situation on the ground, as Barack Obama is about to do, but the visits rarely result in any revelations for them, writes Karen DeYoung in the Washington Post . The itineraries are fairly routine by now—meet the generals, the troops, and some Iraqi leaders; maybe visit the front lines—and "most seem to return even more convinced of the views they held before they left." More »
- Senate Confirms Iraq Generals in New Jobs
  
  newser | Associated Press | Jul 10, 08 2:43 PM CDT
  
  The Senate today confirmed Gen. David Petraeus as the top commander in the Middle East and Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno to replace Petraeus as the chief military officer in Iraq. Last year, Petraeus helped to tame growing opposition to the Iraq war in Congress by providing measured assessments of progress and warning that an exodus of US troops would result in chaos. More »
- War Power Must Be Jointly Held
  
  newser | New York Times | Jul 8, 08 12:05 PM CDT
  
  Calling the current system “ineffective at best and unconstitutional at worst,” two former Secretaries of State propose a sweeping update of law governing powers to declare war—whereby the president would be required to seek permission from Congress for “significant armed conflict” (lasting more than a week). In the New York Times , James Baker and Warren Christopher take both branches to task. More »
June 2008
- Congress Passes $162B Measure to Fund Wars
  
  newser | Associated Press | Jun 26, 08 10:24 PM CDT
  
  The Senate tonight passed a $162 billion war spending plan, sending to President Bush legislation that will pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan until the next president takes office. The package, approved 92-6, includes a doubling of GI Bill college benefits. It also provides a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits and $2.7 billion in flood relief for the Midwest. Bush is expected to sign the bill next week. More »
- House OKs War Funding, Aid for Flood Relief
  
  newser | Associated Press | Jun 19, 08 9:10 PM CDT
  
  A much-delayed Iraq war funding bill sailed through the House tonight, along with a doubling of college aid for returning troops and help for the unemployed and Midwestern flood victims. Republican allies of President Bush provided the winning margin in a 268-155 vote to provide $162 billion to fund US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan well into next year. More »
- Party Leaders in House Reach Deal on War Funds
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 18, 08 9:58 PM CDT
  
  A two-year fight between the White House and Democrats over war funding has been resolved, the New York Times reports. House leaders reached a deal to allocate $163 billion for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through early next year. The measure, expected to be approved by the full House as early as tomorrow, also includes new education benefits for veterans and an extension of aid for the unemployed. More »
- Albright: Burmese Paying for Bush's Failed Policies
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 11, 08 7:53 PM CDT
  
  The Myanmar junta’s shameful cyclone response illustrates some global truths we must face, writes Madeleine Albright in the New York Times . Among them: President Bush's ill-advised attack of Iraq has made it all the more difficult for the international community to intervene in the world's trouble spots. Instead, the principle of national sovereignty now rules the day, even when people are suffering. More »
- War Spending Strategy: Soak the Grandkids
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jun 11, 08 11:47 AM CDT
  
  As Congress tackles the latest "emergency" spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the total to more than $860 billion, Ruth Marcus notes in the Washington Post: "For the first time in American history, every penny of that amount will have been borrowed. For the first time, billions more will have been borrowed to finance tax cuts in the midst of war. " More »
- Kucinich Moves to Impeach Bush
  
  newser | Politico | Jun 10, 08 6:00 AM CDT
  
  January 2009 can't come soon enough for Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich. The onetime presidential hopeful read 35 articles of impeachment against President Bush into the Congressional record last night, Politico reports, but House leaders say the idea is “off the table." Kucinich, who has previously sought to impeach Dick Cheney, accused Bush of war crimes, and other illegal acts. More »
- Bush, Advisers Misled US on Iraq: Senate Report
  
  newser | Reuters | Jun 5, 08 2:19 PM CDT
  
  The Bush administration distorted facts in justifying the invasion of Iraq and overstated Saddam Hussein’s links to al-Qaeda, a long-delayed report from the Senate intelligence committee concludes. Bush and his advisers also ignored doubts about Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction in constructing their case for military action, Reuters reports. More »
May 2008
- Admit It, Mac, You Misspoke
  
  newser | Washington Post | May 30, 08 7:49 PM CDT
  
  John McCain has been dabbling in truthiness this week, Michael Dobbs blogs in the Washington Post . McCain said US troops were “drawn down to pre-surge levels" in Iraq, and cities like Mosul were "quiet"—but in fact, troop levels remain higher than before the surge, and Mosul's quiet is often broken by car bombs and other fatal strikes. More »
- Audit Shows Billions Unaccounted for in Iraq
  
  newser | New York Times | May 23, 08 11:20 AM CDT
  
  A Pentagon audit of $8.2 billion in taxpayer money spent in Iraq found that nearly all of the handouts skirted federal rules, and millions of dollars in contracts were awarded with little or no record of what they were for, reports the New York Times . Take the $320.8 million that was issued to 1,000 Iraqis for "Iraqi Salary Payment"—$320,800 a head—with no explanation of what they were compensated for. More »
- Pelosi Becomes a Believer on Baghdad Trip
  
  newser | Associated Press | May 17, 08 12:12 PM CDT
  
  Nancy Pelosi visited Iraq today, and the staunch war critic said she liked what she heard. After meeting with several top Iraqi and US officials, including Nouri al-Maliki and David Petraeus, Pelosi emerged optimistic about the upcoming provincial elections. She also praised Baghdad for passing a budget and oil legislation, the AP reports. More »
- House Rejects $162.5B Bill to Fund Wars
  
  newser | Washington Post | May 15, 08 5:10 PM CDT
  
  The House today shot down a $162.5 billion bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into next year after a surprise tactic by angry Republicans, the Washington Post reports. The bill failed by a vote of 148-141 after 132 members of the GOP abstained. By doing so, they formed an unusual coalition with a group of anti-war Democrats. The vote doesn't mean the wars won't be funded, however—the bill will be revived in the Senate next week. More »
- Rumsfeld Dodged Early Iraq Failures: Sanchez
  
  newser | Time | May 4, 08 11:34 AM CDT
  
  Early mistakes in Iraq—and the extent of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's involvement in them—are the subject of a Time excerpt from a book by the former commander of US forces in Iraq, Gen. Ricardo Sanchez. Sanchez details an effort by Rumsfeld to get him to agree, on paper, that Rumsfeld had been out of the loop on the premature drawdown of strategic command forces that led to disarray—a claim Sanchez vehemently denies. More »
- Dems Jeer 'Iraq Victory' Anniversary
  
  newser | Politico | May 1, 08 3:15 AM CDT
  
  Five years ago today, President Bush bounded out of a fighter jet onto a deck of an aircraft carrier and, under a huge "Mission Accomplished" banner, boasted to cheering troops that major combat operations in Iraq had ended. As the war drags on into its sixth year, congressional Democrats are using the anniversary to highlight the administration's "arrogant" mishandling of Iraq, Politico reports. More »
April 2008
- Iraq to Net Record $70B Oil Windfall
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 08 2:58 AM CDT
  
  US analysts estimate that record-breaking oil prices and a fall in insurgent attacks on pipelines will boost Iraq oil revenue this year to $70 billion—double earlier estimates, the Wall Street Journal reports. The latest figure has sparked a call among US lawmakers to demand that Iraq pay more of its reconstruction costs. But the White House has warned that slashing aid could prolong the war. More »
- Armed Forces Enlist More Criminals
  
  newser | Associated Press | Apr 21, 08 8:29 PM CDT
  
  The US Army and Marines are signing up more felons in an effort to overcome flagging enlistment, the AP reports. The Army doubled its recruitment of felons last year and the Marines upped theirs from 208 to 350—including conscripts with sex crime and manslaughter convictions. The rise in felon recruits "may be undermining military readiness," said Rep. Henry Waxman, who revealed the data. More »
- 'Too Old' Byrd to Critics: Shut Up!
  
  newser | The Hill | Apr 17, 08 2:40 AM CDT
  
  History's longest-serving senator has two words for people who think he's no longer up to the job of chairing the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee: "Shut up." Democrat Robert Byrd, 90, has been hospitalized twice this year but his management of a two-hour hearing on Iraq war spending yesterday apparently silenced his critics, the Hill reports. More »