lily
10-23-2007, 10:43 PM
Bush has said he wants less spending, threating the veto on everything the Democrats send him. He also wants an extra $46 billion more than the $200 billion he is asking for. Where does it end? (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/23/AR2007102300706.html?hpid=topnews)
Bush Says U.S., Allies Have 'Urgent' Need for Missile Defense
By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 23, 2007; 1:43 PM
President Bush said today the United States and its allies have an "urgent"
need to build a missile defense system in Europe to protect against
ballistic missile launches from such states as Iran, and he called on
Congress to stop efforts to cut funding for key components of the program.
In a speech at the National Defense University in Washington, Bush also
defended programs to collect intelligence on suspected terrorists and to
interrogate terrorist leaders, saying the programs had helped to protect the
United States and save American lives.
He urged Congress to strengthen and make permanent the Protect America Act,
which Bush signed into law in August to temporarily facilitate electronic
surveillance of intelligence targets believed to be outside the United
States. And he complained that the interrogation program conducted by the
CIA "has come under renewed criticism in recent weeks" despite what he said
was a record of success.
In statements today, Senate Democrats accused Bush of hypocrisy on federal
spending and of playing politics with funding priorities. Senate Majority
Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said that while Bush seeks an additional $200
billion for the Iraq war, "he continues to threaten to veto efforts to
invest in domestic priorities like homeland security, bridge repairs and law
enforcement."
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the assistant majority leader, told a news
conference, "The budget fight the president is spoiling for is about as
phony as a World Wrestling Entertainment smackdown." He accused Bush of
engaging in "a lot of bluster and showmanship that has very little to do
with reality."
Bush told the audience at the National Defense University at Fort McNair
that the threat to the United States from ballistic missiles "has been
growing for decades" and must be countered urgently. He sought to reassure
Russia, which has opposed U.S. missile defense efforts, that the program is
not aimed at it but at preventing attacks from potential enemies who are not
deterred by the threat of mutual destruction.
Bush Says U.S., Allies Have 'Urgent' Need for Missile Defense
By William Branigin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 23, 2007; 1:43 PM
President Bush said today the United States and its allies have an "urgent"
need to build a missile defense system in Europe to protect against
ballistic missile launches from such states as Iran, and he called on
Congress to stop efforts to cut funding for key components of the program.
In a speech at the National Defense University in Washington, Bush also
defended programs to collect intelligence on suspected terrorists and to
interrogate terrorist leaders, saying the programs had helped to protect the
United States and save American lives.
He urged Congress to strengthen and make permanent the Protect America Act,
which Bush signed into law in August to temporarily facilitate electronic
surveillance of intelligence targets believed to be outside the United
States. And he complained that the interrogation program conducted by the
CIA "has come under renewed criticism in recent weeks" despite what he said
was a record of success.
In statements today, Senate Democrats accused Bush of hypocrisy on federal
spending and of playing politics with funding priorities. Senate Majority
Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said that while Bush seeks an additional $200
billion for the Iraq war, "he continues to threaten to veto efforts to
invest in domestic priorities like homeland security, bridge repairs and law
enforcement."
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), the assistant majority leader, told a news
conference, "The budget fight the president is spoiling for is about as
phony as a World Wrestling Entertainment smackdown." He accused Bush of
engaging in "a lot of bluster and showmanship that has very little to do
with reality."
Bush told the audience at the National Defense University at Fort McNair
that the threat to the United States from ballistic missiles "has been
growing for decades" and must be countered urgently. He sought to reassure
Russia, which has opposed U.S. missile defense efforts, that the program is
not aimed at it but at preventing attacks from potential enemies who are not
deterred by the threat of mutual destruction.