BREAKING NEWS: BILL TO CUT FUNDING FOR WAR IN IRAQ DIES IN THE SENATE

The war in Iraq will continue you indefinitely because the Senate pulled a bill that would have cut off funding for most combat operations in Iraq.

The Democrats knew they didn't have the votes to pass the measure so they pulled the bill.

Even had the bill passed in the Senate, President Bush had vowed to veto it.

Brief Iraq Withdrawal Hopes Fizzle

By Maya Schenwar t r u t h o u t Report

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022908Q.shtml

Friday 29 February 2008

A bill to cut off funding for most combat operations in Iraq collapsed in the Senate Wednesday night when leadership pulled it from the floor, seeing it could not garner enough votes for passage.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acknowledged to reporters on Thursday afternoon the bill would not be brought to a vote. However, it did pass a cloture vote on Tuesday after a decision by Republican leadership to address the war controversy head-on, making this week's debate the longest Iraq-based discussion the Senate floor has seen since July.

Sponsored by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin), the bill marked a shift away from antiwar Democrats' previous focus on setting a deadline for troop withdrawal, according to Feingold's spokesman.

Instead, it would have restricted war spending substantially, confining it to targeted missions against al-Qaeda and affiliated groups, in addition to training Iraqi forces and protecting American personnel and facilities in Iraq. Funding cuts would have begun within 120 days - a monumental change in course for Iraq policy.

Yet, most analysts agree the purpose of the latest bill was not to end the war since sponsors knew, based on precedent, it would fail overwhelmingly in the Senate - and, if it didn't, would be vetoed automatically by President Bush. The last time Feingold proposed similar legislation, about half of Senate Democrats voted against it.

"Leadership knew it wouldn't pass, as almost all of the Republicans could be counted on to oppose it," said Jack Swetland, manager of Congressional affairs at the Center for American Progress.

He added that Feingold's three similar troop withdrawal proposals introduced over the past few months have failed.

The Feingold plan's proponents hoped to "create a vote which could be used against Republicans in the fall election," according to Voices for Creative Nonviolence co-coordinator Jeff Leys.

Click on link to read full story...