Pelosi: Bush Must Justify Future Iraq Actions

[Bob Geiger]

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was on CBS's Face The Nation this morning and she has made remarkably clear that Democrats will likely withhold any funding for the escalation of the Iraq war that George W. Bush is expected to announce in the coming week. Speaking forcefully, but carefully, Pelosi laid out a Democratic agenda that defines her parameters as in line with what the vast majority of Americans believe about what she called "a war without end."

"If the president wants to add to this mission, he is going to have to justify it," said Pelosi, speaking to host Bob Schieffer. "And this is new for him because up until now the Republican Congress has given him a blank check with no oversight, no standards, no conditions. And we’ve gone into this situation, which is a war without end, which the American people have rejected."

"If the president chooses to escalate the war, in his budget request we want to see a distinction between what is there to support the troops who are there now. The American people and the Congress support those troops. We will not abandon them."

That last part is a critical distinction for Pelosi to make because, as we all know, most Republicans will use any negative response to a troop surge to paint Democrats as unpatriotic and unsupportive of the troops in Iraq. The House Speaker could not possibly have been more clear that she will never block funding for the troops already on active duty in Iraq, but that Bush, for the first time ever, will have to justify and get consensus from Congress on any escalation to the war.

Pelosi also made the point that she supports expanding the overall size of the U.S. military -- but to address how stretched the military is because of the Iraq war and the extent to which it's made us less safe for any other defense imperatives that may arise.

"Democrats do support increasing the size of the Army by 30,000, the Marines by 10,000 to make sure we’re able to protect the American people," said Pelosi, adding that it is important to protect all of our security interests "…wherever they may occur. That’s different, though, from adding troops to Iraq."

"The president wants to escalate a war where his generals are telling him that the additional troops will not be effective… and then again, ignoring the strong message of the American people."

More than anything, Pelosi's strong words underscore an ugly truth that the White House is now going to have to deal with: The days of Bush's absolute rule under a Republican Congress are over.

"We will always support the troops who are there," said Speaker Pelosi. "If the president wants to expand the mission, that’s a conversation he has to have with the Congress of the United States."

You can see a video clip of Pelosi's Face The Nation appearance as well as a partial transcript at the excellent Think Progress.

You can read more from Bob at BobGeiger.com.

Update: Taylor Marsh has the full video of Speaker Pelosi's Face The Nation appearance here.

[rodeodance]

1. Boxer--Bush went 'General shopping" just now on Blitzer, cnn

[badgerpup]

2. K & R

She's got both 'NADS and brains, does our Madame Speaker...AND she's articulate without being obscure.
Lay it out, Nancy!
The rest of the country needs to 'get it' as well. :patriot::applause:





:kick:

[MichiganVote]

3. Sounds good. Is good...but

Bush HAS justified the war in Iraq many times over with BS and the prior Congress bought it and we are paying for it.

I'd like to know what this new "conversation" with this Congress will entail. I'm just not interested in another sell job by anyone in government, even Pelosi.

[rosesaylavee]

4. She was articulate

sincere, concerned, respectful of the President and firm in her plan of action to work in the best interests of the American people no matter their political affiliation. The GOP better start taking notes because she is certainly setting the bar and the tone at several levels higher than its been in about 12 years at least.

I am very impressed with her.

[Eurobabe]

5. Happy to be rec #5, GO NANCE!!

[Bucky]

6. Perfectly said. What a refreshing experience it is to hear logic and reason coming from government

How refreshing to see a grown up acting like a grown up. Kicked and recced.

[Tom Joad]

7. Pelosi, we must defund this whole war.

We can do that without "abandoning the troops". Funds should only be granted to get them home safely.

In fact, if Dems support current troop levels, then that is what i would call an abandonment of the troops to Bush & Co insanity.

[stansnark]

15. exactly

[Chorophyll]

8. K & R for Speaker Pelosi. n/t

[MannyGoldstein]

9. Way to Go!

I'm extremely skeptical that the Congressional "Dems" will do very much - but I gotta say, this is an actual start.

[stansnark]

10. so she just wrote a blank check

to keep the troops (already in iraq) there forever ? not what i voted for.

[MsUnderstood]

12. she DID NOT WRITE a blank check

She prevented repubs from saying we don't support the troops by seperating the 2 issues...current troops and more troops. The budget must specify what money goes to the current troops (for review and oversight) and what money goes to future troops (for a slapdown).

Guys this is big! Bush no longer gets to tell congress what he wants and gets it. He has to justify his stupidity.

[stansnark]

16. "We will always support the troops who are there,"

if thats not a blank check - what is ? blank check as in "always". she set no time limits so that says "indefinitely" to me. for all practical intents and purposes she just took withdrawal off the table.

[iamahaingttta]

11. I, for one, do NOT...

"...support the troops" whatever the hell that means.
They are, all and everyone of them, war criminals for particpating VOLUNTARILY in this criminal action.
Every single one of them had the opportunity to say "No, I will not be deployed to Iraq" and very few did so.
Of course, there would be consequences for doing so, and the vast majority chose to avoid those consequences.

I realize this attitude is not going to be anything near what the new DEM leadership says, and in the real world, they are probably doing the right thing.
However, I do not agree with them.
We must pull all of our troops out of there immediately, in order to REALLY solve this mess.

[stevietheman]

17. I don't think you'll find many Dems or Progressives who agree with you.

We do need to support the troops, as we will need them in future legitimate cases for defending the country. It's not the troops' fault that they made a decision to go to Iraq instead of going to prison.

[iamahaingttta]

38. Yes, actually...

... it is "...the troops' fault that they made a decision to go to Iraq instead of going to prison."

That's exactly my point.

[stevietheman]

43. That's outrageous, and fodder for criticism by Freepers. n/t

n/t

[Aviation Pro]

30. Whoa, hoss....

Members of the services are bound by the laws that govern the military. They are not "war criminals" for serving the country and the distinctions between what is a lawful order and an unlawful one often are very blurred. When I took the Army War College course on insurgency, just defining the level of insurgent activity required clear evidence to distinguish one level from another. In all cases, combat operations against an enemy forces defined as insurgents were legal under our current laws.

The bluriness and lack of distinction is in the conduct of operations when conducting Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT) and it's during these operations that war crimes occur, but don't label our soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen with the jejune-like statement that they are all "war criminals."

[Zambero]

33. You're way off base

So why not expand your argument a bit and consider anyone who pays federal income taxes to be a war criminal for helping to fund this criminal action? And it most certainly IS a criminal action, but the accountable parties are not the troops on the ground. They set no policies, gather (or distort) no intelligence, and make no decisions as to how they will be deployed. The best way to support the troops is to put constant pressure on representatives in Congress to redirect all Iraq-related funding toward full redeployment OUT of the civil war mess that military personnel are currently faced with. The mid-term election was the initial step, now Congress must follow through with the will of the voters.

[nealmhughes]

34. We all took the oath voluntarily to support, protect and defend the Constitution

of the United States and to obey all lawful orders by officers appointed over us.

No soldier, sailor, marine, or airman chooses where he or she goes or what they will encounter when there, only what they will do when they are in and out of uniform. Whether it be a beer garden in Munich or a fire fight in the Sunni Triangle, the armed forces are bound by a very strict moral code. Just because the President and the Congress send them there is beyond their control.

Save your ire for the politicians, not for our troops. I learnt how to drink liquor and coffee and to enjoy cigars in the USN -- never saw combat, but I have a dear friend who is dead from our Afghanistan Adventure, and an uncle dead from a Nazi's bullet in France and another uncle dead from a Chinese bullet in Korea...save your B.S. for another group, not the Democratic Underground.

[antiimperialist]

13. I used to like Pelosi

What is she talking about? How about asking for a justification for the invasion which has not been provided? If I kill someone today or steal a car, will I be forgiven and be asked to stop killing or stealing cars? I doubt it, unless I were the president of the U.S.?

[w4rma]

14. Very good. (nt)

[liberal renegade]

18. Excuse me

there isn't anything to justify. Would the gentle lady from California just call a spade a spade and end this fucking charade! :wtf:

[stansnark]

19. "If the president wants to add to this mission, he is going to have to justify it,"

unbelievable cave-in. how about "continue with this mission" ?

[creeksneakers2]

20. Very smart move

If Bush has to justify future expenditures on the war he'll have to provide an honest and realistic estimate of what the costs will be. I suspect we'll be looking at trillions of dollars and 10 years worth of effort. The American people should know this if we are to continue in Iraq. It would be a terrible outcome for us to waste more lives and money just to find out later that the war is more than we bargained for and give in then. We need an honest debate now, finally.

[Teacher in SC]

21. Pelosi's comments on Face the Nation

Are you guys missing the message here? Do you even once see the word "surge"? She has set the stage for Dems to call this what it is, an escalation of the war. Skim through and watch her use of escalation and escalate! That's what all Dems should be doing. This is the same turning point as in Vietnam. We better nip it in the bud while we can. When the American people keep hearing "escalate the war" those old enough to know what that really means will have the hair stand up on the backs of their necks. For those of you who think any Dems should "make a point" of using "escalate"/vs/"surge, you missed the real point.

The word "escalation" should be our mantra. The Repubs are so good at this. The change in terminology should never be mentioned or discussed.
The word "surge" should never come out of the mouth of any Democrat at any time, even with friends, unless they are discussing a tsunami or an electrical phenomenon.

No matter what you think of Nancy, good or bad, what she did today was leadership.

[mac56]

23. Welcome, Teacher!

Great post.

:applause:

[Clarkie1]

29. The escalation is not just about Iraq either.

They want to "escalate" into Iran as well.

[bdamomma]

42. our the Dems aware of this, I have my tin foil

hat on, sending more troops to where Mr. Bush Iraq or Iran?? We have to stop this.

[DWilliamsamh]

22. Nancy Pelosi was masterful.

I watched the entire interview, and she was clear, concise and spoke in a way easily accessible to the American people. She didn't split hairs, and she didn't allow Bob Scheefer to frame her answers with loaded questions.

Case in point in the first segment of the interview Scheefer and Pelosi discussed the content of the memo to President Bush in which she and Senator Reid made it clear that he Congress was going to do its job and require justification for any increase in troops, and in fact were GOING To pressure the white house to begin withdrawing troops in 4-6 months. Scheefer asked her if she and the Democrats had any fear that if the U.S. left Iraq in 6 months (notice he frames it as if a FULL withdrawal would be DONE), that Iraq would devolve into chaos.

Pelosi stopped him immediately, and politely told him two things. "Iraq is already in chaos," and two, the Congress EXPECTS that the needed withdrawal will be planned to give the Iraqi government the most support possible to ensure the BEST outcome possible but that the U.S. will NOT remain trapped by continued incompetence in on the part of Maliki's administration.

She did great. I am looking forward to her time as speaker.

[ZaiusNation]

24. Help us Obi Wan Pelosi, your our only hope!

Zaius Nation

[gulliver]

25. She was perfect.

Feeling better and better about her.

[RestoreGore]

26. When are they going to say, "END THIS WAR?"

And what does she mean by he will have to "justify it?" This entire war is UNJUSTIFIED. Oh well, I might as well resign myself to understanding that this is simply more posturing for the next election, and as has been since this war started it is only being used as a political football while real people die in the interim. There is NOTHING to justify at this juncture, and he should get NOTHING. PERIOD.

[Triana]

27. Excellent! GO Nancy!

I heard this on the radio on the way back from a class. WooHoo! Go Nancy GO! It's ABOUT TIME George's unlimited-length leash was SHORTENED.

[Clarkie1]

28. K & R. nt

[NightOwwl]

31. What's with all the friggin trolls in here?

jeez.

[The Wizard]

32. It matters not

what the new Congress votes for or against, the right wing media echo chamber will say it's unpatriotic. They just have to do the right thing and expose the evil bastards and their media shills. The hammer is in their hands, and it should be used hammer out a policy exclusive of any Republican input. All funding for projects in Republican districts should be reduced or eliminated. It's about time the Southern bigots got off the remnants of the reconstruction dole left over from the Civil War. The blue states that pay most of the taxes should demand returns commensurate with their contributions to the treasury. Grover "light in the loafers" Norquist's starve the beast program needs to be applied to all things Republican. Make them sweat.

[peacetheonlyway]

35. Hey Nancy! Stop writing checks outta my bank account for the Iraq War!!

for a war that has gone seriously down the tubes.

Stop sanctioning torture on my taxpayer dollar.

Stop it!! now... really. Don't say "Bush I'll give you the money if you ask nicely."

Say, "Bush, this way to the impeachment proceedings".

and next time you try to pull a Maria Theresa of the Hapsburg empire trick like
pinching a baby and then coddling them before going on stage, just realize we're
watching your ever step. And it does not speak kindly that you'd use a baby to
increase your power hungry image.

please. grow a backbone. stop the power hunger. We know you work with military
contractors. we know you are the other side of a bad coin.

Grow up. Get real. We need you to lead now! Don't add to Condi's bad legacy
of women in power suck. We need women to be good role models not placating cowtowing apologists...

[Maryland Liberal]

36. Impeachment

Of Course- if the Bushie were impeached - he couldnt send any more troops there- could he?

[Apollo11]

37. I think I'm falling in love ...

Is it just me or is anyone else falling in love with the new Speaker of the House?

It's not just what she says. It's something about the way she says it ...

I don't care if she is 29 years older than me. This is my kinda woman !!! B-)


PS - If you refuse to support the Dems then you are helping Bu$h-Cheney.

If you don't believe me ask Karl Rove and Tony Snow. They LOVE the far-left!

[Imagevision]

39. Nance, you're the greatest but you've got to put this impeachment thing back on the table babe....

[harveyc]

40. What happened to redeployment of the troops we have there?

She said we "Won't do that" regarding the current level of funding in Iraq. If she pays for it, she owns it re Campbell vs. Clinton, implied consent. While in August 2006 she urged beginning redeployment of our troops by the end of 2006, she is now insuring that they will not be coming home in the near future.

[bdamomma]

41. I would like to hear Madame Speaker Pelosi ask Bush can you

repeat what I just have told you, and do you understand Mr. pResident?

bush is shopping for "yes" Generals.