Today's news that President Bush will veto the Defense Appropriation Bill is a surprise, but the illogical rhetoric accompanying it is all too familiar. The administration objects to a provision in the bill that would allow courts to freeze Iraqi assets as part of lawsuits against Iraq. The Iraqi government opposes this measure because it would expose them to asset freezes related to litigation over Saddam Hussein's bad acts.
Despite being one of those who supported the bill, the most senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, John Warner, said:
The president is doing the right thing [...] It's in our
national security interests, and it's the right thing to try to
preserve what I perceive as a strengthening of the relationship between
our government and the Iraqi government.
If it was the "right thing" to do this, why didn't Warner do the "right thing" and oppose the bill in committee? If the President is doing the "right thing", why did Randy Kuhl
vote for the bill two weeks ago?