How much is it going to cost?
Anatomy of a veto
Bush bristles at the idea that Congress might be able to put some limits on his authority. He's not having any of that he vetoed the Emergency Funding Act for Iraq in resistance to their attempt to apply conditions.
Is this an attempt to gain a political advantage? Is this a serious policy disagreement? Or is it just childish acting out but with serious consequences?
Oklahoma seems to be solidly behind Bushes idea of an indefinite war. Inhofe, Sullivan, and Boren all have spoken out clearly supportive of the veto. I feel very much like a voice in the wilderness writing this.
But all this worry about deadlines begs the question. Why do we even need an “emergency war spending bill” as Bush called it in the TV speech he gave to explain his veto? Did something unanticipated occur that created an emergency? No of course not. There's no new situation. The situation is the same it's always been. Our President simply doesn't want to ask for the resources needed to fight the war. The reason isn't clear, it's either because he doesn't know or he doesn't want the public to know what it's going to cost.
In 2002 the White House estimate of the total cost of the Iraq invasion a that the maximum cost would be less than 200 billion dollar. That's according to Lawrence Lindsey, Director of the White House National Economic Council at the time (September 2002). Even that estimate was four times the original Pentagon estimate of 50 billion dollars.
Last summer the Congressional Budget Office but the estimate in the range of between 500 and 700 billion dollars, 3 to 4 times the previous White House maximum
Bush bristles at the idea that Congress might be able to put some limits on his authority. He's not having any of that he vetoed the Emergency Funding Act for Iraq in resistance to their attempt to apply conditions.
Is this an attempt to gain a political advantage? Is this a serious policy disagreement? Or is it just childish acting out but with serious consequences?
Oklahoma seems to be solidly behind Bushes idea of an indefinite war. Inhofe, Sullivan, and Boren all have spoken out clearly supportive of the veto. I feel very much like a voice in the wilderness writing this.
But all this worry about deadlines begs the question. Why do we even need an “emergency war spending bill” as Bush called it in the TV speech he gave to explain his veto? Did something unanticipated occur that created an emergency? No of course not. There's no new situation. The situation is the same it's always been. Our President simply doesn't want to ask for the resources needed to fight the war. The reason isn't clear, it's either because he doesn't know or he doesn't want the public to know what it's going to cost.
In 2002 the White House estimate of the total cost of the Iraq invasion a that the maximum cost would be less than 200 billion dollar. That's according to Lawrence Lindsey, Director of the White House National Economic Council at the time (September 2002). Even that estimate was four times the original Pentagon estimate of 50 billion dollars.
Last summer the Congressional Budget Office but the estimate in the range of between 500 and 700 billion dollars, 3 to 4 times the previous White House maximum
posted by Gary Carson at 10:56 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home