lily
12-28-2007, 10:05 PM
I totally forgot about those POWs who sued, got their money and then got their money taken away. So now, Bush says hurry up and send me the money, or you don't support the troops.......but it seems it's him who's not doing the supporting (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22420862/)
Bush plans to veto defense policy bill
updated 2 hours, 58 minutes ago
CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush plans to veto a sweeping defense policy
bill on grounds that it would derail Iraq's efforts to rebuild its country,
the White House said Friday.
Bush's action, which apparently caught congressional leaders off guard,
centers on one provision in the legislation dealing with Iraqi assets. The
legislation would permit plaintiffs' lawyers immediately to freeze Iraqi
funds and would expose Iraq to "massive liability in lawsuits concerning the
misdeeds of the Saddam Hussein regime," said White House spokesman Scott
Stanzel.
"The new democratic government of Iraq, during this crucial period of
reconstruction, cannot afford to have its funds entangled in such lawsuits
in the United States," Stanzel said in a statement.
Surprise disapproval
House and Senate Democrats said Friday that the first time they'd heard of
any White House concerns with the legislation was after Congress sent the
bill to Bush for his signature.
"The administration should have raised its objections earlier, when this
issue could have been addressed without a veto," Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a joint
statement. "The American people will have every right to be disappointed if
the president vetoes this legislation, needlessly delaying implementation of
the troops' pay raise, the Wounded Warriors Act and other critical
measures."
Sovereign nations are normally immune from lawsuits in U.S. courts. An
exception is made for state sponsors of terrorism and Iraq was designated
such a nation in 1990. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, however, Congress
passed a law and Bush issued a decree stating that Iraq was exempt from such
lawsuits.
After that exemption was passed, the administration challenged and
successfully overturned a $959 million court ruling for members of the U.S.
military who said they were tortured as prisoners of war during the first
Persian Gulf War.
The Justice Department also sought to defeat a lawsuit brought by U.S.
citizens held hostage during Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. That case has
been taken over by lawyers for the new Iraqi government and is ongoing in a
Washington federal court.
Imperiled Irarqi assets
The provision that is causing problems would have allowed the victims of the
executed Iraqi dictator Saddam to seek compensation in court, Democrats
said. The Iraqi government has warned that former U.S. prisoners of war from
the first Gulf War might cite this legislation in an attempt to get money
from the Iraqi government's reported $25 billion in assets now held in U.S.
banks, they say.
Unless Bush vetoes the legislation, the Iraqis have threatened to withdraw
all of their money from the U.S. financial system to protect it from the
lawsuits, Democrats said.
The White House contends the legislation subject to the Bush veto would
imperil Iraqi assets held in the United States, including reconstruction and
central bank funds.
"Once in place, the restrictions on Iraq's funds that could result from the
bill could take months to lift," Stanzel said. In turn, he said, those
restrictions must not be allowed to become law "even for a short period of
time."
Shot back Reid and Pelosi: "We understand that the president is bowing to
the demands of the Iraqi government, which is threatening to withdraw
billions of dollars invested in U.S. banks if this bill is signed."
Military pay raises
The White House says the bill authorizes 0.5 percent of the 3.5 percent pay
raise that the nation's troops are expected to receive, and that part will
be wiped away by the veto.
Stanzel said the administration will work with Congress to get the
additional pay raise approved and retroactive to Jan. 1 under a reworked
bill. He said the bulk of the raise for the troops - 3 percent - is slated
to go into effect anyway.
Overall, the bill authorizes $696 billion in military spending, including
$189 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for the 2008 budget year.
It aims to provide more help to troops returning from war and set conditions
on contractors and pricey weapons programs.
The measure reflects the best Democrats could do this year on their national
security agenda while holding such a slim majority. Powerless to overcome
GOP objections in the Senate, the bill does not order troops home from Iraq,
as Democrats would have liked.
While it does not directly send money to the Pentagon, the bill is
considered a crucial policy measure because it guides companion spending
legislation and dictates the acquisition and management of weapons programs.
Bush plans to veto defense policy bill
updated 2 hours, 58 minutes ago
CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush plans to veto a sweeping defense policy
bill on grounds that it would derail Iraq's efforts to rebuild its country,
the White House said Friday.
Bush's action, which apparently caught congressional leaders off guard,
centers on one provision in the legislation dealing with Iraqi assets. The
legislation would permit plaintiffs' lawyers immediately to freeze Iraqi
funds and would expose Iraq to "massive liability in lawsuits concerning the
misdeeds of the Saddam Hussein regime," said White House spokesman Scott
Stanzel.
"The new democratic government of Iraq, during this crucial period of
reconstruction, cannot afford to have its funds entangled in such lawsuits
in the United States," Stanzel said in a statement.
Surprise disapproval
House and Senate Democrats said Friday that the first time they'd heard of
any White House concerns with the legislation was after Congress sent the
bill to Bush for his signature.
"The administration should have raised its objections earlier, when this
issue could have been addressed without a veto," Speaker Nancy Pelosi,
D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a joint
statement. "The American people will have every right to be disappointed if
the president vetoes this legislation, needlessly delaying implementation of
the troops' pay raise, the Wounded Warriors Act and other critical
measures."
Sovereign nations are normally immune from lawsuits in U.S. courts. An
exception is made for state sponsors of terrorism and Iraq was designated
such a nation in 1990. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, however, Congress
passed a law and Bush issued a decree stating that Iraq was exempt from such
lawsuits.
After that exemption was passed, the administration challenged and
successfully overturned a $959 million court ruling for members of the U.S.
military who said they were tortured as prisoners of war during the first
Persian Gulf War.
The Justice Department also sought to defeat a lawsuit brought by U.S.
citizens held hostage during Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. That case has
been taken over by lawyers for the new Iraqi government and is ongoing in a
Washington federal court.
Imperiled Irarqi assets
The provision that is causing problems would have allowed the victims of the
executed Iraqi dictator Saddam to seek compensation in court, Democrats
said. The Iraqi government has warned that former U.S. prisoners of war from
the first Gulf War might cite this legislation in an attempt to get money
from the Iraqi government's reported $25 billion in assets now held in U.S.
banks, they say.
Unless Bush vetoes the legislation, the Iraqis have threatened to withdraw
all of their money from the U.S. financial system to protect it from the
lawsuits, Democrats said.
The White House contends the legislation subject to the Bush veto would
imperil Iraqi assets held in the United States, including reconstruction and
central bank funds.
"Once in place, the restrictions on Iraq's funds that could result from the
bill could take months to lift," Stanzel said. In turn, he said, those
restrictions must not be allowed to become law "even for a short period of
time."
Shot back Reid and Pelosi: "We understand that the president is bowing to
the demands of the Iraqi government, which is threatening to withdraw
billions of dollars invested in U.S. banks if this bill is signed."
Military pay raises
The White House says the bill authorizes 0.5 percent of the 3.5 percent pay
raise that the nation's troops are expected to receive, and that part will
be wiped away by the veto.
Stanzel said the administration will work with Congress to get the
additional pay raise approved and retroactive to Jan. 1 under a reworked
bill. He said the bulk of the raise for the troops - 3 percent - is slated
to go into effect anyway.
Overall, the bill authorizes $696 billion in military spending, including
$189 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for the 2008 budget year.
It aims to provide more help to troops returning from war and set conditions
on contractors and pricey weapons programs.
The measure reflects the best Democrats could do this year on their national
security agenda while holding such a slim majority. Powerless to overcome
GOP objections in the Senate, the bill does not order troops home from Iraq,
as Democrats would have liked.
While it does not directly send money to the Pentagon, the bill is
considered a crucial policy measure because it guides companion spending
legislation and dictates the acquisition and management of weapons programs.