D
DemocratsBetrayedUSA
Guest
And all these years you asshole liberals have been saying thats why Bush
went into Iraq...To steal their oil....LOL ROFLMAO
Democrats Want Iraqis to Use Oil Surplus
WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats plan to push legislation this spring that would
force the Iraqi government to spend its own surplus in oil revenues to
rebuild the country, sparing U.S. dollars.
The legislation follows a recommendation by Gen. David Petraeus, the top
U.S. commander in Iraq, that the Bush administration halt troop withdrawals
in July. Petraeus on Wednesday was wrapping up two days of congressional
testimony in which he has said security gains in the war zone are too
fragile to promise further drawdowns.
Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said
pausing troop reductions would signal to the Iraqis that the United States
was committed to the war indefinitely.
"Rather, we need to put continuous and increasing pressure on the Iraqis to
settle their political differences, to pay for their own reconstruction with
their oil windfalls, and to take the lead in conducting military
operations," said Levin, D-Mich.
Iraq has about $30 billion in surplus funds stored in U.S. banks, according
to Levin.
Iraq is looking at a potential boon in oil revenue this year, possibly as
much as $100 billion in 2007 and 2008. Meanwhile, the U.S. military is
having to buy its fuel on the open market, paying on average $3.23 a gallon
and spending some $153 million a month in Iraq on fuel alone.
While Iraq pays for fuel for its own troops, it has relied heavily on U.S.
dollars to provide people with basic services, including more than $45
billion for reconstruction.
Lacking the votes to order troops home by a certain date, Democrats see
fencing off reconstruction money as an alternative to challenging the Bush
administration's Iraq policies. And several Republicans have signaled their
concerns about burgeoning Iraqi oil revenues at a time when the war is
growing increasingly costly.
"Isn't it time for the Iraqis to start bearing more of those expenses,
particularly in light of the windfall in revenues due to the high price of
oil?" said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, agreed but said it would take
time.
"I think what we've got to focus on in the period ahead is this kind of
transitioning," Crocker said. "And it'll be, like everything else in Iraq, a
complex process."
Levin said he expects the legislation to be proposed as part of this year's
war spending bill or the 2009 defense authorization bill.
In his testimony on Tuesday, Petraeus said he recommended to President Bush
that the U.S. complete, by the end of July, the withdrawal of the 20,000
extra troops. Beyond that, the general proposed a 45-day period of
"consolidation and evaluation," to be followed by an indefinite period of
assessment before he would recommend any further pullouts.
Bush is expected to embrace Petraeus' plan, which reflects a conservative
approach that leaves open the possibility that roughly 140,000 U.S. troops
could remain in Iraq when the president leaves office next year - a strategy
Democrats are criticizing.
"It's clear to me, and I think to my Republican colleagues as well, the
president just says his only plan to is keep roughly 140,000 troops there
until the next president becomes president, and hand off the problem to him
or her," Senate Foreign Relations chairman Joe Biden, D-Del., said Wednesday
in an interview on CBS'"The Early Show."
Bush planned a breakfast meeting Wednesday with Defense Secretary Robert
Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Later in
the day, he was to meet with Republican and Democratic leaders from the
House and Senate.
On Thursday, Bush will make a speech about the war and his decision about
troop levels.
went into Iraq...To steal their oil....LOL ROFLMAO
Democrats Want Iraqis to Use Oil Surplus
WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats plan to push legislation this spring that would
force the Iraqi government to spend its own surplus in oil revenues to
rebuild the country, sparing U.S. dollars.
The legislation follows a recommendation by Gen. David Petraeus, the top
U.S. commander in Iraq, that the Bush administration halt troop withdrawals
in July. Petraeus on Wednesday was wrapping up two days of congressional
testimony in which he has said security gains in the war zone are too
fragile to promise further drawdowns.
Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said
pausing troop reductions would signal to the Iraqis that the United States
was committed to the war indefinitely.
"Rather, we need to put continuous and increasing pressure on the Iraqis to
settle their political differences, to pay for their own reconstruction with
their oil windfalls, and to take the lead in conducting military
operations," said Levin, D-Mich.
Iraq has about $30 billion in surplus funds stored in U.S. banks, according
to Levin.
Iraq is looking at a potential boon in oil revenue this year, possibly as
much as $100 billion in 2007 and 2008. Meanwhile, the U.S. military is
having to buy its fuel on the open market, paying on average $3.23 a gallon
and spending some $153 million a month in Iraq on fuel alone.
While Iraq pays for fuel for its own troops, it has relied heavily on U.S.
dollars to provide people with basic services, including more than $45
billion for reconstruction.
Lacking the votes to order troops home by a certain date, Democrats see
fencing off reconstruction money as an alternative to challenging the Bush
administration's Iraq policies. And several Republicans have signaled their
concerns about burgeoning Iraqi oil revenues at a time when the war is
growing increasingly costly.
"Isn't it time for the Iraqis to start bearing more of those expenses,
particularly in light of the windfall in revenues due to the high price of
oil?" said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, agreed but said it would take
time.
"I think what we've got to focus on in the period ahead is this kind of
transitioning," Crocker said. "And it'll be, like everything else in Iraq, a
complex process."
Levin said he expects the legislation to be proposed as part of this year's
war spending bill or the 2009 defense authorization bill.
In his testimony on Tuesday, Petraeus said he recommended to President Bush
that the U.S. complete, by the end of July, the withdrawal of the 20,000
extra troops. Beyond that, the general proposed a 45-day period of
"consolidation and evaluation," to be followed by an indefinite period of
assessment before he would recommend any further pullouts.
Bush is expected to embrace Petraeus' plan, which reflects a conservative
approach that leaves open the possibility that roughly 140,000 U.S. troops
could remain in Iraq when the president leaves office next year - a strategy
Democrats are criticizing.
"It's clear to me, and I think to my Republican colleagues as well, the
president just says his only plan to is keep roughly 140,000 troops there
until the next president becomes president, and hand off the problem to him
or her," Senate Foreign Relations chairman Joe Biden, D-Del., said Wednesday
in an interview on CBS'"The Early Show."
Bush planned a breakfast meeting Wednesday with Defense Secretary Robert
Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Later in
the day, he was to meet with Republican and Democratic leaders from the
House and Senate.
On Thursday, Bush will make a speech about the war and his decision about
troop levels.
