US House Delivers Stinging Rebuke to Bush Over New Iraq Strategy...

[bridgit]

The US House of Representatives delivered a stinging rebuke to President George W. Bush over his new strategy on Iraq, in a rare wartime blow to the country's commander-in-chief.

How Did Your US Representative Vote? http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll099.xml

The terse text of the non-binding resolution was adopted by the Democrat-controlled House, also winning the support of 17 of the 201 Republican members.

A total of 246 of the current 434 House members voted for the motion, which says "Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 10, 2007" to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq.

It adds that "Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States armed forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq."

The vote came at the end of a week of debate, the most serious organized on the Iraq war since the US-led invasion in March 2003, in which all members of the House had a chance to voice their opinion.

For the new Democratic Party majority, Friday's vote finally gives voice to the voters who swept them to power in both chambers of Congress in November elections amid a wave of anger over the Iraq war, which has claimed more than 3,100 US lives.

It presages a rare Saturday session of the upper chamber of Congress, the Senate, which will hold a key procedural vote on whether to kick-start its own debate on a similar motion.

The American electorate "voted for a new direction in our nation -- including a new direction for the war in Iraq," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said ahead of Friday's vote

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0216-08.htm

[TahitiNut]

1. It's "non-binding" - just like anything Congress passes ... in the Cheney/Bush view, at least.

:shrug:

[bridgit]

3. i've heard it described as an incremental first step with more & quicker...

steps to follow, and that makes sense to me; when the surge is seen as a disaster, they will be scrambling like rabbits through the briar & bramble to sign a binding resolve i would think

[HockeyMom]

2. It's not for Iraq anyway,

it's putting the chess pieces in place for IRAN.

[bridgit]

6. congress had better get it's head around that whole region...

[Hekate]

4. Big ol' kick for this news. Must be the first time EVER that someone said NO to the Nekkid Emperor

It's a start.
Hekate

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

7. you never met barbara, did you?

just asking

[Hekate]

10. And I hope I never DO meet the old battle-axe! rofl

You can't rain on my parade with that -- How about "since he left home"?

Hekate

[ChairmanAgnostic]

11. I repeat . . . .

:)

[bridgit]

8. yeah, they mentioned the WH is pissed about it too...

:cry:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. and MSGOP is spinning it as a pleasant surprise to the GOP bleadershit.

because so few of their congresscritters "defected"

[bridgit]

13. ha! indeed, "We have great news! The patient only bled out 2.5 pints of blood...

"...and the whole blood shipment arrives in less than 10 months time." great news ;)

[Double T]

9. The vote will PROBABLY be stricken from the record by executive order.........

or a signing statement. NO democracy HERE!

[helderheid]

12. which 2 Ds voted nay?