Bob Herbert: Until the War Ends ...

[ProSense]

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Bob Herbert: Until the War Ends ...

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The war — which, in addition to its human toll, will ultimately cost $2 trillion or more — has put America in a straitjacket, precluding progress on a range of important issues that will only worsen with continued neglect.

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We’ve moved beyond the absurd when it comes to the war. President Bush responded to the antiwar sentiment in last November’s election by escalating U.S. involvement in Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney, lost in a zone of unreality, is blithely spreading the fantasy of “enormous progress.” He may not have noticed that the last three months have been among the worst of the war.

The Democrats who benefited from the antiwar vote reacted to the president’s thumb in the eye of the voters with their usual timidity. They’ve put their hearts and souls into a marathon effort to pass a nonbinding resolution opposing the troop surge. Be still my heart.

The bottom line is that nothing has changed. The horror stories continue to spew out of Iraq: the helicopters being shot down, the mass killings in marketplaces, the steady stream of U.S. soldiers returning in body bags.

We need to stop pretending that there is something sane about continued U.S. involvement in this ruinous war. We keep sending troops into the combat zone and they keep sinking ever deeper into the ancient Middle East sand. To keep sending young people off to die in a war that everybody knows is pointless is criminal.

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Bush's $2.77 trillion budget included a Record $622 Billion Budget Requested for the Pentagon. (Billions could be saved by withdrawing troops from Iraq.)

Money for war and everything else gets cut, cut, cut:

The Bush Budget Fails Gulf Coast Hurricane Survivors

Just days after opposing the Baker-Landrieu bill (H.R. 4100), a bipartisan plan to redevelop the Gulf Coast region’s flooded areas, President Bush presented a budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2007 that deals another painful blow to hurricane survivors. The Bush budget shows his Administration has learned little from the Gulf Coast hurricanes that displaced over 1 million Americans, caused 1,350 deaths, destroyed 275,000 homes, and caused $40 billion in property damage. Instead of addressing the ongoing economic development, recovery, rebuilding, housing, health care, and education needs of Gulf Coast communities, President Bush proposes cuts to the very programs that would help the hurricane survivors. For example, President Bush proposes slashing funding for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG)—the program his Administration pointed to as a reason for opposing the Baker-Landrieu bill. As recently as last week, Donald E. Powell, the administration’s federal coordinator for Gulf Coast rebuilding said:

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If the Bush Administration believes that CDBG money is the best way to rebuild the Gulf Coast, then why does the Bush budget for Fiscal Year 2007 cut funding for CDBG grants by $736 million? To make matters worse, the President’s budget takes away funding from state and local authorities and relies on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to administer federal funds for hurricane relief. This report examines the various ways President Bush’s budget fails hurricane survivors.

Bush Budget Shortchanges Disaster Prevention Programs

Bush budget cuts funding for the Army Corps of Engineers. The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for carrying out projects that help prevent flooding and coastal damage, including levee projects. Yet the Bush budget would cut funding for the Army Corps of Engineers by 11 percent or $596 million, from $5.3 billion to $4.7 billion in Fiscal Year 2007. This includes a 34 percent cut in the construction budget. The President’s budget would cut funding by $2 million for emergency streambank and shoreline protection and by $40 million for aquatic plant control and ecosystems. Funding proposals for 596 projects in last year’s Energy and Water Appropriations bill were not included in the President’s budget request.

Bush budget cuts funding for storm warning and detection programs. Early warnings of natural disasters can help prepare the public and give government officials more time to plan for and implement emergency plans. The Bush budget, however, would cut millions in funding for the very government agencies and programs that help provide these services. The National Weather Service (NWS) provides warnings and forecasts to ensure public safety and mitigate property loss and economic disruption. The Bush budget would cut funding for the NWS from $107 million to $98 million in Fiscal Year 2007. Funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would be reduced by $169 million, from $3.850 billion to $3.681 billion in Fiscal Year 2007, including the National Ocean Service ($113 million cut); the Oceanic and Atmospheric Research program ($18 million cut); and the National Marine Fisheries Service ($37 million cut).

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NPR took An Inside Look: President Bush's 2007 Budget, and found cuts:

Budget Proposals Trim Health Care Spending
Education Spending Declines
Spending on Environment Cut

And there are more cuts:

Veterans face consecutive budget cuts

Bush’s ‘08 Budget Slashes Middle-Class Assistance


Where are all the prominent figures of the Democratic Party?

They need to make some, or some more, noise about ending the war because until the war ends, people will continue to die and essential programs that benefit the living will continue to suffer budget cuts.