According to MSNBC news, our very own Congressman John Spratt has spearheaded an effort by the Congressional Budget Office to look into President Bush's proposed troop surge in Iraq. As we all know by now, Pres. Bush vowed to send 21,500 more combat troops to Iraq in an effort to stabilize what many are now calling a civil war in Iraq. What Bush failed to mention, as uncovered by the CBO is that those 21,500 COMBAT troops will require at least as many, if not more, support troops to go to the country. CBO estimated that the effort could involve as many as 48,000 troops in all.
Despite what you think about the war in and of itself, I think we can find it agreeable on both sides of the aisle that politicians like Congressman Spratt have been standing up to the administration and reasserting their own voices in the debate. There are numerous bi-partisan non-binding resolution floating around the Senate that express Congress' reticence to escalate the troop numbers in Iraq. Barack Obama just introduced binding legislation that requires a nearly full US withdrawal (save some special forces) by March of 2008 (naturally this has largely been viewed as a posturing move for Obama given his recent entrance into the presidential race).
I say kudos to Congressman Spratt and all the other politicians who are taking a stand, particularly SC politicians (Lyndsey Graham has acted admirably as well). I'm glad to see leadership emerging in Congress and that our legislative body is once again asserting its own power and not being unquestioningly deferential to an executive office that has sought to expand its power time and time again.
1 comment:
Spratt has almost always been a quiet, yet formidable and well informed player in Congress. He is often the one pounding out the numbers and doing the difficult work while other make floor speeches (often based on his advice and findings). Probably one of my favorite people in Congress.
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