Five weeks after President Bush won unfettered funding for America to fight the war in Iraq until September, Senate Democrats will try again on Monday to end the war.
Their opening gambit this summer will be three key amendments to the 2008 bill that authorizes defense spending. The bill is set to be marked up on July 9. Most appealing to wavering Republicans will be an amendment offered by a senator who served as President Reagan's secretary of the Navy, a Democrat from Virginia, James Webb. Mr. Webb proposes to lengthen the leave time of active and
reserve duty soldiers, making reinforcement of the current surge next to impossible.
Also offering amendments are Senator Feingold of Wisconsin and Senator Levin of Michigan. Mr. Levin, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, would mandate troop withdrawals within four months of the law's passage unless the Iraqi government meets political and security benchmarks. The bill allows Mr. Bush waiver authority. Mr. Feingold's amendment requires the president to withdraw nearly all of the troops in Iraq by the middle of the presidential election season, April 2008.
After celebrating the Fourth of July yesterday, and catching up on some of the "proud to be an American" movies I enjoy so much, I find it disturbing to see how complacent a growing number of Americans have become.
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