Fool me once, fool me twice (Congress rolls over again)

[atommom]

A date to remember will be the night of June 20, 2006. That's the night the United States Congress was fooled for the second time.

Remember October 2002 and Iraq? So much has happened since then that it seems like ancient history.

Or at least that is what the Bush administration would like to have the public think. One constant theme that emanates from the White House is that whatever mistakes might have been made in the past - eg, the reasons given to justify going to war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq - they are behind us. It's "water under the bridge", or maybe "over the dam" - take your pick.

So it is. But so too is October 2002, when Congress voted to surrender to the president its constitutional duties with regard to declaring war by "empowering" Bush to use any and all means and, at a time of his choosing, to compel Saddam Hussein to give up the weapons of mass destruction that the world "knew" he possessed. Bush pushed the button on March 19, 2003, plunging the United States into a war in Iraq that has taken, conservatively speaking, 45,000-50,000 Iraqi lives and killed 2,500 US service members, 226 troops from other coalition countries, 100 journalists, and more than 350 contractors. The war has cost nearly US$400 billion and will generate thousands of disabled veterans for decades to come.

For a number of weeks, congressional Republicans and administration spokespersons have been setting the stage with the same poisonous "props" of rogue states, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction they used in 2002 against Iraq. Their apparent goal is to convince the public that Iran, like Iraq, is a menace to its neighbors, to the United States, and to the world. Some in the administration have also asserted that the October 2002 resolution for the use of force against Iraq was so worded that it remains in force for any contemplated military action against Iran. That is, the president can launch a war without getting further congressional assent.

Much more: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/HF30Aa01.html

[atommom]

1. Poor thread. Let's give you a kick.