CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush on Friday used a "pocket veto" to reject a sweeping defense bill because he dislikes a provision that would expose the Iraqi government to expensive lawsuits seeking damages from the Saddam Hussein era.
In a statement, Bush said the legislation "would imperil billions of dollars of Iraqi assets at a crucial juncture in that nation's reconstruction efforts."
The president's objections were focused on a provision deep within legislation that sets defense policy for the coming year and approves $696 billion in spending, including $189 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also in the legislation were improved veterans benefits and tighter oversight of contractors and weapons programs.
The pocket veto means that troops will get a 3 percent raise Jan. 1 instead of the 3.5 percent authorized by the bill.
Bush's decision to use a pocket veto, announced while vacationing at his Texas ranch, means the legislation will die at midnight Dec. 31. This tactic for killing a bill can be used only when Congress is not in session.
The House last week adjourned until Jan. 15; the Senate returns a week later but has been holding brief, often seconds-long pro forma sessions every two or three days to prevent Bush from making appointments that otherwise would need Senate approval.
Brendan Daly, spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, "The House rejects any assertion that the White House has the authority to do a pocket veto."
When adjourning before Christmas, the House instructed the House clerk to accept any communications - such as veto messages- from the White House during the monthlong break.
A Democratic congressional aide pointed out that a pocket veto cannot be overridden by Congress and allows Bush to distance himself from the rejection of a major Pentagon bill in a time of war.
In a message to Congress, the president said he was sending the bill and his outline of objections to the House clerk "to avoid unnecessary litigation about the non-enactment of the bill that results from my withholding approval, and to leave no doubt that the bill is being vetoed."
Democratic aides said they have not ruled out any legislative options, including dropping the language on lawsuits against Iraq and sending the rest of the bill back to Bush.
The sponsor of the contested provision, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said the provision would allow "American victims of terror to hold perpetrators accountable - plain and simple."
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called on lawmakers to "move rapidly to fix this section" when Congress returns in January so that the underlying bill can be signed.
Democratic congressional leaders complained that Bush's move was a last-minute stunt because he had never indicated his intention to veto the bill.
Bush aides said they had signaled concern about the controversial provision for weeks, although there had been no formal veto threat. They said their concern grew urgent recently after a legal review and feedback from U.S. diplomats in Iraq and Iraqi leaders.
The disputed section of the bill would reshape Iraq's immunity to lawsuits, exposing the new government to litigation in U.S. courts stemming from treatment of Americans in Iraq during Saddam's reign. Even cases that had once been rejected could be refiled.
Bush's aides warned of a dire scenario - a rush of litigation that could freeze tens of billions of dollars in Iraqi assets being held in U.S. banks. Money at the heart of the Iraqi rebuilding effort would be tied up in court, potentially halting the very stabilization efforts that could get U.S. troops home faster, the aides said.
Yet Democrats fumed that Bush could have worked out the technical fix sooner if he had wanted, without rejecting an entire bill that contains extra help and money for troops.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Veto Threat Becomes Reality
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12/29/2007 11:58:00 PM
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U.S.-led Wars Costing $15B Per Month
WASHINGTON -- Official estimates of the cost of the U.S.-led efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq place the total military spending at nearly $15 billion a month.
U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the ranking Republican with the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee said in a Dec. 18 floor speech that the "cost of this war is approaching $15 billion a month, with the U.S. Army spending $4.2 billion of that every month," The Washington Post reported Thursday.
Stevens spoke in support of a $70 billion supplement to the fiscal 2008 omnibus spending bill to fund counter-terrorist activities and the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq from Oct. 1, 2007, to March 31, 2008.
The Pentagon estimated $11.7 billion for monthly spending for the conflicts but a Congressional Research Service report said the Pentagon doesn't count covert and other intelligence activities it its cost estimates, the Post said.
The CRS report noted the cost estimates for the U.S.-led conflicts are 60 percent higher than for fiscal 2006, citing maintenance and upgrades to military equipment and units as contributing to the increase.
The current omnibus package expires after U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, testify before Congress on the situation in Iraq.
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12/29/2007 11:34:00 PM
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Triple Threat Pressures al Qaeda
Having been ejected from Baghdad and its environs during the surge of forces, al Qaeda in Iraq is attempting to re-establish itself in regions north of the capital city, a senior U.S. military officer posted in Iraq said today.
Yet, while al Qaeda scrambles to reorganize itself, the terrorist group is being pressured by a triple threat consisting of coalition and Iraqi security forces and local concerned citizens' groups, Army Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, a spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference.
Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, commander of Multinational Division North, believes that some al Qaeda operatives who fled Baghdad are moving into his area of responsibility, Bergner said.
"We have to continue to pursue this enemy to prevent them from re-establishing themselves or creating new bases of operation," Bergner said.
Meanwhile, the 70,000 members of Iraqi concerned citizens' groups that have sworn to fight al Qaeda have proven to be powerful allies, Bergner said, as the capabilities and numbers of Iraqi soldiers and police continue to grow.
"The emergence of concerned local citizens has been driven by and focused on providing security at the local level in places where other forces were not capable of doing it," Bergner explained. "At the same time that that's happening, the capability of other forces to provide security, particularly Iraqi security forces, is growing."
Iraqi security capabilities will be further augmented when some members of the concerned citizens groups join Iraqi army or police units, Bergner said.
Through this process, Iraqi soldiers and police will be able to assume more and more responsibility for security in their country, Bergner said.
Much progress also has been achieved on the Iraqi governmental front, said Phillip T. Reeker, Baghdad counselor for public affairs, who accompanied Bergner at the news conference.
Yet, "a lot more needs to be done" in the political realm, Reeker said, noting Iraq's leaders "need to take advantage of the space created through the surge" to achieve more national political progress.
Meanwhile, Multinational Division North and its Iraqi partners continue efforts "to pursue al Qaeda, to prevent them from establishing safe havens and operating bases," Bergner reported.
More tough fighting lies ahead against terrorists in Iraq, Bergner predicted, noting yesterday's bombing north of Baghdad demonstrates the terrorists' desire to stage spectacular, brutal attacks in efforts to derail the Iraqi government. The Beiji bombing killed more than 20 people, including some guards at a housing area for oil industry workers and a number of women and children, according to news reports.
"This attack is further evidence of the nature of al Qaeda, their use of indiscriminate violence and their corrupt ideology that targets those who are protecting Iraq," Bergner said. "We will work closely with Iraqi authorities to help them enforce the rule of law and bring the perpetrators to justice."
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12/29/2007 11:11:00 PM
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Labels: IRAQ