The US military's top generals have warned Iraq is on the cusp of a civil war and that US troops must remain in large numbers until at least next spring. But if the winds suddenly blow a different direction, Congress is ready to celebrate with a US$20 million victory party.
Lawmakers included language in this year's defense spending bill, approved last week, allowing them to spend the money. The funds for "commemoration of success" in Iraq and Afghanistan were originally tucked into last year's defense measure, but went unspent amid an uptick in violence in both countries.
Senator Mitch McConnell, the second-ranking Republican senator, originally sponsored the provision, which Democrats agreed to add to last year's defense bill.
Senate Republicans kept the authorization in the 2007 bill, and with elections five weeks away Democrats are pointing to it as another example of where the ruling party has gone astray in its handling of the war in Iraq.
"If the Bush administration is planning victory celebrations, Americans deserve to know what their plan is to get us to a victory in Iraq," said Rebecca Kirszner, spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.
McConnell's spokesman, Don Stewart, said he thought the finger pointing was silly because the provision was added last year by unanimous consent, which means without a recorded vote.
"Apparently [Democrats] were for honoring the troops before they were against it," Stewart said.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are at stake in the voting although only about a dozen races are competitive because districts are mapped to favor incumbents. In the Senate 33 seats are on the ballot. The Republicans control both the House and the Senate.
Carolyn Weyforth, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said, "Republicans are confident we will be victorious in the ongoing war in terror, and we look forward to a time when those funds can be used to honor the men and women who have risked and given their lives."
Under the language, President George W. Bush could "designate a day of celebration" to honor troops serving in the two wars.
Bush could also call on the nation "to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities" and issue awards to troops who have served honorably.
The Pentagon could spend up to US$20 million of its US$532 billion budget next year for the commemoration. The money will be available for the 2007 budget year, which began Oct. 1.
Proclaiming victory in the Iraq war has already proven to be tricky business. Bush was criticized for delivering his "Mission Accomplished" speech in May 2003 aboard an aircraft carrier.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese