bRight & Early

Jim Lynch May 1st, 2007 7:20 pm

To expand a bit on my previous post:

Hardly unexpected, and long overdue, the President vetoed the Cut and Run funding bill.

In only the second veto of his presidency, Bush rejected legislation pushed by Democratic leaders that would require the first U.S. combat troops to be withdrawn by Oct. 1 with a goal of a complete pullout six months later.

“This is a prescription for chaos and confusion and we must not impose it on our troops,” Bush said in a nationally broadcast statement from the White House. He said the bill would “mandate a rigid and artificial deadline” for troop pullouts, and “it makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing.”

There is an interesting story about the pen used to veto the bill.

Bush signed the veto with a pen given to him by Robert Derga, the father of Marine Corps Reserve Cpl. Dustin Derga, who was killed in Iraq on May 8, 2005. The elder Derga spoke with Bush two weeks ago at a meeting the president had with military families at the White House.

Derga asked Bush to promise to use the pen in his veto. On Tuesday, Derga contacted the White House to remind Bush to use the pen, and so he did. The 24-year-old Dustin Derga served with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion 25th Marines from Columbus, Ohio. The five-year Marine reservist and fire team leader was killed by an armor-piercing round in Anbar Province.

One key reason for the rejection is beyond obvious, and it confounds me that others refuse to see it. From the President’s remarks:

It makes no sense to tell the enemy when you plan to start withdrawing. All the terrorists would have to do is mark their calendars and gather their strength — and begin plotting how to overthrow the government and take control of the country of Iraq. I believe setting a deadline for withdrawal would demoralize the Iraqi people, would encourage killers across the broader Middle East, and send a signal that America will not keep its commitments. Setting a deadline for withdrawal is setting a date for failure — and that would be irresponsible.

Well, yeah.

I’m glad that the President used his veto power on this pork laden surrender document. I do wish he had remembered this power of the presidency much sooner, say around the time of the BCRAp bill.

Ok Surrender Monkeys, you’ve had your day of political theatre. Now do what’s right.

Cross posted at Heading Right

• Congress , Iraq , Our Military , Politics , President Bush , Surrender Monkeys , The Left
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