McCain and Bush are “joined at the hip”

Senator Joe Biden (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke at the Center for American Progress Action Fund today and discussed presidential nominee John McCain’s remarks last week about Senator Obama and his statement to commence talks with Iran. Biden said that McCain’s foreign policy aims are undefined and will be following in President Bush’s footsteps.

Biden declared that Bush was “completely out of touch” with the government. The Bush Administrations foreign policy objectives have failed, Iran’s influence has expanded not diminished, Hamas runs amok in Iraq, over 4,000 American soldiers have lost their lives in the Iraq war and the Middle East is more dangerous now then it was seven years ago, Biden said.

McCain said last week that Obama is naive for seeking out peace talks with Iran, but Biden thinks that Obama understands the United State’s sophisticated relationship with Iran. The allies and partners of the United States need to know that the new administration in January will go the extra diplomatic mile to talk with Iran and use diplomatic means to work things out instead of using military force.

Biden said that McCain has no plan to remove the United States from Iraq other then the Bush plan, which is to stay. Biden maintains that there is no difference between McCain and Bush, and that they are “joined at the hip.” Obama offers new plans and ideas for United States foreign policy, which shouldn’t be slighted by Bush and McCain, but looked forward to as a way to improve America’s standing in the world in the future, and bring American troops home.

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.

House hearing focuses on relocating displaced Iraqi refugees

The House Foreign Affairs Committee, Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee, and the International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight Subcommittee held a joint hearing entitled, “No Direction Home: An NGO Perspective on Iraqi Refugees and IDP’s (internally displaced persons).” The hearing examined whether or not the United States should accept Iraqi refugees into our nation, or if we would instead be better off making IDP’s stay in Iraq to help with the nation’s rebuilding efforts.

The members of Congress responded in ways that often conflicted with one another at the hearing. Some congressmen, such as Chairman Gary Ackerman (D-NY), called the President’s response to relocating displaced Iraqi’s “pathetic,” saying that the United States should accept Iraqis searching for homes. Other members of Congress, like Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), felt that the Iraqi government should begin to take accountability for rebuilding their country, which should start with the people “above the bloodshed,” like the refugees.

Ackerman said that the problem of how to help displaced refugees is just at the “tip of the iceberg.” While the Bush Administration had targeted to resettle 12,000 Iraqi’s to the United States this year, only 2,627 had been admitted as of March 31, far short of the government’s, perhaps lofty, expectations.

Mission Accomplished banner in front of White House draws crowd

The Iraq Campaign 2008 held an event today in front of the White House in which a fifty foot long replica banner of the "Mission Accomplished" sign, that was aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln five years ago today, was on display. Protesters were present on this five year anniversary on the revealing of the sign to demonstrate that the mission is not yet indeed accomplished. Plenty of media were on hand to witness a protester against the protest, whom was immediately drowned out by the overwhelmingly outnumbering crowd in support of the protest.

A first glance at Afghanistan

The attack on Karzai was launched from this building



The Afghan National Police seal off a street where a firefight is occurring



Houses surrounding Kabul



Afghan National Police after the firefight

For more photos from Richard's time in Afghanistan go to our Flickr Page!