House Issues Rare Rebuke As Some Republicans Cross Line

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Democratic-controlled House issued a symbolic rejection of President Bush’s plan to deploy more troops to Iraq on Friday, opening an epic confrontation between Congress and commander in chief over an unpopular war that has taken the lives of more than 3,100 U.S. troops.The vote on the nonbinding measure was 246-182.“The stakes in Iraq are too high to recycle proposals that have little prospect for success,” said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California. who gained power last fall in elections framed by public opposition to the war.“The passage of this legislation will signal a change in direction in Iraq that will end the fighting and bring our troops home,” she vowed.Mr. Bush’s Republican allies said repeatedly the measure would lead to attempts to cut off funds for the troops. Outnumbered, they turned to Representative Sam Johnson of Texas to close their case – and the former Vietnam prisoner of war stepped to the microphone as lawmakers in both parties rose to applaud his heroism.“Now it’s time to stand up for my friends who did not make it home, and for those who fought and died in Iraq already,” he said. “We must not cut funding for our troops. We must stick by them,” he added, snapping off a salute as he completed his remarks to yet another ovation.Mr Bush made no comment on the developments, and his spokesman said the commander in chief was too busy to watch the proceedings on television.After a secure videoconference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Mr. Bush said the Iraqis were reporting progress: providing troops to fight alongside Americans, making sure that no ethnic or religious factions are ignored in the security operations, providing $10 billion toward reconstruction and working on an oil revenue-sharing law.The developments in the House marked the first vote of the new Congress on the war. Roughly 400 of 434 lawmakers spoke during four days of a dignified debate – an unusual amount of time devoted to a single measure.Moving quickly, Senator Reid, Democrat of Nevada and the Senate’s Majority Leader, has called a test vote for Saturday on an identical measure, and several presidential contenders in both parties rearranged their weekend campaign schedules to be present.Republicans said in advance they would deny Democrats the 60 votes they need to advance the resolution, adding they would insist on equal treatment for a GOP-drafted alternative that opposes any reduction in funds for the troops.The developments unfolded as a new poll showed more than half those surveyed view the war as a hopeless cause.A sizeable majority, 63 percent, opposes the decision to dispatch more troops, although support for Mr. Bush’s decision has risen in the past few weeks from 26 percent to 35 percent, according to the AP-Ipsos poll.The House measure disapproves of Mr. Bush’s decision to increase troop strength, and pledges that Congress will “support and protect” the troops.Mr. Bush has already said passage of the measure will not deter him from proceeding with the deployment of another 21,500 troops, designed primarily to quell sectarian violence in heavily populated Baghdad.Already, troops of the Army’s 82nd Airborne have arrived in Iraq. Another brigade is in Kuwait, undergoing final training before proceeding to Iraq. Three more brigades are ticketed for the Baghdad area, one each in March, April and May.In addition, the Pentagon is sending two Marine battalions to Anbar province in the western part of the country, the heart of the Sunni insurgency.Mr. Bush and his allies in Congress calculated days ago that the House measure would pass, and increasingly have focused their energy on the next steps in the Democrats’ attempt to end American participation in the war.“I’m going to make it very clear to the members of Congress, starting now, that they need to fund our troops,” Mr. Bush said earlier this week, a reference to legislation that requests more than $93 billion for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.As developments on Capitol Hill went forward, the White House sought to play down the impact of the debate and vote. The president himself made no comment on it – with his spokesman saying he was too busy to watch – and turned instead toward Iraq. He reported after a secure videoconference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that progress is being made.The president said that the Iraqi leader briefed him on several recent steps by his government: providing troops to fight alongside Americans, making sure that no ethnic or religious factions are ignored in the security operations, providing $10 billion toward reconstruction and working on an oil revenue-sharing law.“I was pleased that he’s meeting benchmarks that he has set for his government,” Mr. Bush told reporters. “That’s good news for the Iraqi people. And it should give people here in the United States confidence that his government knows its responsibilities and is following through on those responsibilities.”Democrats have made clear in recent days they will use Mr. Bush’s spending request to impose certain standards of readiness, training and rest for the troops.“That stops the surge (in troops) for all intents and purposes, because … they cannot sustain the deployment,” Representative John Murtha, Democrat of Pennsylvania, said recently.Republicans pointed to his remarks repeatedly during the day as evidence that despite their claims to the contrary, Democrats intend to cut off funds for the troops.“This is all part of their plan to eliminate funding for our troops that are in harm’s way. And we stand here as Republicans…committed to making sure our troops in harm’s way have all the funds and equipment they need to win this war in Iraq,” said Representative John Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader.

House Issues Rare Rebuke As Some Republicans Cross Line

More from the New York Sun

Collectivists Turn May Day Into a High Holiday

U.S. Floats Netanyahu–Aoun Meeting as Path to IDF Exit From Lebanon

Louisiana Lawmakers Advance Bill Protecting College Faculty Members’ Ability To Engage in the ‘Rigorous Exchange of Ideas’

Assassination Attempt Exposes Danger of Liberal Bias — and Outright Trump-Hatred — at America’s Universities

The Marriage Gap Is the Biggest Cause of Inequality in America, but Gets the Least Attention

Kentucky Derby Arrives With History, Heartbreak, and Change in the Air

Actress Takes a Beating From Harvey Weinstein’s Lawyers Over Secret ‘Love Note’: It’s Latest Example of Why This Rape Case Is So Hard To Prove

A Tale of Moral Courage in World War II, Chronicled Through Cartoons