Stop the War

The Senate received a House-passed bill that includes $50 billion of the nearly $200 billion that President Bush wants for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. It would require troop withdrawals to begin within 30 days, and sets a goal of complete withdrawal by mid-December 2008. The bill awaiting a Senate vote also would require C.I.A. operatives and other American personnel to follow Army Field Manual rules on torture, including ban on waterboarding, an interrogation technique that simulates drowning. Bush, of course, has threatened a veto. “The war in Iraq has cost us over 3,800 dead and 28,000 wounded. While the president is vetoing bills because he thinks we don’t have enough money for health care or education, there are estimates that this war will end up costing us over $1 trillion. Legislation will be coming to the floor to provide enough funds to redeploy our troops out of Iraq within the next year. I will support that bill and hope that the President reconsiders his veto threat.”