As expected, Randy Kuhl voted against on the revised emergency supplemental appropriation which would mandate an withdrawal from Iraq beginning in either July or October, depending on war progress. President Bush will veto this bill, and then a compromise will ensue. During the debate over the compromise, I expect Randy to repeat some of his favorite talking points: he will "support our troops no matter what" and he's not ready to "wave the white flag of surrender".
Ignoring for the moment what "supporting the troops" really means, let's look more closely at one of the lesser-publicized parts of the bill [pdf]: the restrictions on the Iraqi government. In Section 1904 (f) of the bill (reprinted below after the break), funding is restricted unless they Iraqis complete a laundry list of items, including distributing oil revenues, scheduling elections, and allocating funds for reconstruction. In short, Congress wants the Iraqis to do what's been promised for four years.
In a war where the next few months are crucial, and where our troops occupying the country are facing an enemy that finds ever more insidious ways to blow them up, expecting the Iraqi government to make a few hard compromises seems only fair. Yet it sounds like the Iraqi Parliament itself is ready to wave its own white flag. At this critical time, and with no resolution reached on the main issues that divide the factions in the government, the Parliament is still planning to take its two-month summer recess.
If this provision of H R 1591 doesn't survive the veto and compromise process, there's no hope at all for a resolution in Iraq during our lifetimes:
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 50 percent of the funds appropriated by title I of this Act for assistance to Iraq under each of the headings ‘‘Economic Support Fund’’ and ‘‘International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement’’ shall be withheld from obligation until the President has made a certification to Congress that the Government of Iraq has enacted a broadly accepted hydro-carbon law that equitably shares oil revenues among all Iraqis; adopted legislation necessary for the conduct of provincial and local elections, taken steps to implement such legislation, and set a schedule to conduct provincial and local elections; reformed current laws governing the de-Baathification process to allow for more equitable treatment of individuals affected by such laws; amended the Constitution of Iraq consistent with the principles contained in Article 137 of such constitution; and allocated and begun expenditure of $10,000,000,000 in Iraqi revenues for reconstruction projects, including delivery of essential services, on an equitable basis.