Not one more dime

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) expressed opposition today to supplemental funding for the Iraq war. Waters was supported by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) as well as the Progressive Democrats of America, who all stressed opposition to the supplemental funding and said they would not support it.

Waters and others stressed the fact that Congress needs to send a strong message to the President and the American people that they are serious about getting our troops out of Iraq and will not approve any legislation which gives one more dime to the Iraq war unless it is for the redeployment of American troops.

Waters said that the mismanagement of the Iraq war has caused too much damage and will not sign or support any bill that extends the war in Iraq or appropriates more money to the Iraq war. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said that she would not support the bill and will add an amendment, similar to the Lee amendment, which would fence off funding to protect troops, contractors and fund a safe and responsible redeployment.

These representatives urged Congress to say no to the supplemental funding bill by Memorial day and not allocate one more dime to the war in Iraq. Former presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), also present at the hearing, is offering an amendment to the bill asking not to use the funds for future conflicts with Iran, Syria and Lebanon.

America's Oil: Good to the last drop

By Ellen Ratner

As I sit here writing this column from the oil rich Middle East, I am reflecting on the political oil wars that we are hearing so much about from President Bush, Congress and the presidential candidates. Yet, no matter our favorite party, branch of government or candidate, the whole story is not being told.

During the last week in April, there were press briefings galore in Congress with words and accusations flying everywhere. The price of oil is killing our economy, small airlines are folding and larger ones are laying off employees or trying to merge. Trucks and their drivers are parading around the Capitol on a daily basis, honking horns and making it clear that it is difficult to survive with the gas prices so high.

The Democrats want the president to stop adding to the strategic oil reserve, which is 97 percent full. So far the president has not budged. The Democrats figure that it could save Americans 5 to 24 cents per gallon. Their plan put forward in four congressional bills includes holding OPEC accountable for price fixing (HR 2264), cracking down on gas price gouging (HR 1252), repealing subsidies to oil companies, investing in renewables (HR 5351) and developing new mileage standards (HR 6).



During several of the pressers, the Democrats rattled their swords. They pointed out that the Saudis had reduced their oil output by 800,000 barrels a day since 2005. Then came the threat, saying that Congress would "block their, (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE), lucrative arms deals." Of course Americans would be on the Democrats' side on this one. Why should we sell arms to countries that are making record profits? The answer is two words: Russia and China. Having just returned from Sudan, it is clear that as soon as the United States opts out of oil production, then China is going to opt in. If that means the price of entry is arms sales, then China and Russia are going to "pay that price" and sell arms. The threat of no arms sales sounds great to the Americans watching the evening news, but it is short sighted indeed.

All of this saber rattling took place against the backdrop of Exxon Mobil releasing its quarterly profits, which are a whopping $10.25 billion for the quarter. The numbers look great for oil investors now, but there are clouds over the horizon, and the large investors are well aware of the darkening cloud cover.

That cloud is called Hubbert's peak. M. King Hubbert predicated in the mid '50s that the world was reaching peak oil production and that the United States would reach it by 1970. He was laughed at and disregarded. Hubbert was right, and one member of Congress has been the lone voice for Hubbert's Peak and the implications that it brings. That member is Republican scientist Roscoe Bartlett from Maryland. As the lone wolf he has said, "You can't pump what is not there." This might explain why there is less oil being pumped from Saudi Arabia. They might be close to peak oil production. There was a stated increase in Saudi "oil reserves" about 10 years ago, but there is no data real data to back up this alleged "find." Saudi Arabia going dry is a very scary situation for the economy and Middle Eastern stability, and cutting off arms sales isn't going to change that fact.

Ordering GAO studies, Rep. Bartlett has continually been on the floor of the House showing graphs and pushing for renewables and alternative energy sources. He was also first out of the box to discuss what he terms as the "investment risk" of doing business with countries that have the largest proven reserves and carry the most political risk. Those just happen to be Iran, Iraq, Nigeria and Venezuela. He has many ideas, including plans for the U.S. to achieve energy independence. One is a bill for "net metering" which encourages Americans to sell back any energy they produce using solar, wind and other alternative energy sources.

There are numerous ways to mitigate the effects of peak oil in the U.S. or anywhere else, but these require long-term planning, investment and action. Idle threats such as cutting off arms sales or stopping CEOs from taking home more bacon are not going to address the problem. Rep. Bartlett has been saying what no one wants to hear. It is time we paid attention.

White House Gaggle

Briefer: Scott Stanzel

President’s Schedule

This morning the President and Mrs. Bush did an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America. Later today, the President will participate in a photo opportunity with Uno the Beagle, winner of the Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club.
Tonight, The President and Mrs. Bush will host a social dinner tonight in honor of Cinco the Mayo.

Deputy Press Secretary Scott Stanzel will brief the press at 12.30 pm today.



Myanmar

Scott Stanzel was asked to comment on the situation in Myanmar, and said, “We are concerned about the reports coming out of Burma and more of the loss of lives. The US Embassy is in touch with Burmese authorities and the ambassador has released some assistance funds under her authority; and that money will go under the world food program and other aid entities and does not necessarily go directly to the government. But we are in the process of assessing what more we can do.


Iran

When asked about a report suggesting that the US has provided Iraq will intelligence that shows Hezbollah has been training militia members, Stanzel said that General Petreus talked about that in his testimony during his last visit to Washington. General Petreus discussed that fact that Iran has made efforts to support special groups inside Iraq. This is something the Iraqis want to stop and therefore Iraqi Prime Minister sent a delegation to Iran last week, Stanzel said. “Iraqis are clearly tired of their disruptive activity and they do want it to stop. “


Food Aid

Stanzel was asked if the White House has gotten any reaction from Congress regarding the announcement last week to increase the food aid money by $ 770 million. “The word that we heard from Congress is that they could potentially put the FY 09 supplemental request that was for $ 70 billion, that included the $ 770 million in food aid; that they could couple that with the FY 08 supplemental request, that has been pending since last fall, and that actually also include our $ 350 million request on food aid,” Stanzel said. He continued to talk about the broad recognition that there is a need around the world for increased support. “We expect Congress to move forward on it. “

Dalai Lama and China

The White House said that they believe that a dialogue between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government was the best way to address some of the fundamental issues.
“Dalai Lama has said himself that he does not seek change in political status for Tibet, but the people in Tibet has said that they are unable to freely practice their religion and freely practice some of their cultures and values, so we believe that talks to discuss those issues is important, ” Stanzel said. The White House said that they will have to wait and see what sort of readout they can get from the parties after their discussions but it is a positive step that they have had talks.

Oil demand and its impact

The President talked about this in his interview this morning, but he is willing to look at anything that Congress might put forward in terms of the gas tax issue. Stanzel said that the White House has had the idea of drilling in ANWR, and if that idea was not rejected in the mid 90s, there could have been potential for millions of barrels of oil per day from the United States. “We have to increase domestic exploration in an environmentally friendly way, and we have to continue to look for those alternative fuels…” Stanzel said. He also mentioned the discussion of investments in cellulosic research that the Administration thinks is the next step beyond the use of corn-based ethanol. “This is a problem that is long time coming and there are no quick fixes to it, “Stanzel ended.

Pentagon Morning Report: Iraq is the news in Mexico

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell gave a quick availability after a ceremony with the Secretary of Defense laying a wreath on a memorial for Mexican WWII veterans. Despite the desire from Pentagon public affairs that emphasis be placed on the trip to Mexico, the subject stayed squarely on the Middle East.

Morell said that everyone from the Secretary of Defense to the Chairman if the Joint Chiefs of Staff has acknowledged what a problem Iranian involvement in Iraq is and is determined to deal with it inside Iraq.

Morrell said that he is not aware of ramping up or revision of war plans for Iran. The focus of U.S. efforts is that Iranian arms and training of terrorists by Iran be dealt with within the confines of Iraq, Morrell said. He warned against the perception of an uptick in Iranian actions in Iraq, though he said, "We are seeing evidence that it continues."

He also said that since the Basra incursion the Iraqi military has made great strides since the fighting a few weeks ago. One example of progress was the development of a concerned local citizens group called "sons of Basra," paid by the Iraqi government to protect their neighborhoods.

"We're on the same page"

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen gave a press conference at the Pentagon today summing up their testimony on Capitol Hill in addition to the marathon testimony by Multinational Forces Iraq commander, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker.

Gates said that before this period of reporting back to the Congress and the Bush administration he had hoped that he, Petraeus, the Joint Chiefs, and the former head of Central Command Adm. Fallon would have a chance to speak their mind on Iraq and Afghanistan as decisions are made about the way forward. Gates said that it just so happened that all involved ended up on the same page as far as relying on information from Gen. Petraeus about conditions on the ground and making decisions based on his reports. Gates reiterated what he has said on Capitol Hill, that it is important not to "get the end game wrong in Iraq"



Mullen said that he feels that this evaluation of forces in Iraq is important, particularly because it will inform troop decisions made about Afghanistan. The 3,500 additional Marines the Defense Department announced it would send in January have been deployed and are en-route to their work in Afghanistan. Gates made sure to say that President Bush had been careful at the NATO summit in Bucharest to say that the U.S. would send more troops to Afghanistan, but not to say exactly how many or when.

When asked whether Muqtada al Sadr is an enemy of the United States, Mullen responded that Sadr is an enigma, whose cease-fire agreement has certainly been a help to the decrease in violence in Iraq. Gates answered that anyone who is prepared to participate in the Iraqi political process in a peaceful and constructive way is no enemy of the United States.

A big topic was Iran. Gates said that he was not sure if the recent reports of Iranian activity indicated an actual uptick in Iranian involvement in Iraq or if in the recent fighting in Basra such activity has just become more apparent. Both men said that they have seen no indication that Iranian President Ahmadinejad had direct knowledge of influence over the Iranian groups that fund and support terrorism in Iraq. But Gates said that though he's seen no evidence he finds it hard to believe that Ahmadinejad doesn't have direct knowledge.

And finally Gates, speaking on Afghanistan, said that the war there seems to have very broad bipartisan support and that he is sure that no matter who the next president is, they will have success in Afghanistan as a goal.