久久亚洲国产成人影院-久久亚洲国产的中文-久久亚洲国产高清-久久亚洲国产精品-亚洲图片偷拍自拍-亚洲图色视频

  Home>News Center>World
         
 

Democrats move to exploit Iraq missteps
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-05 18:23

Democrats are intensifying efforts to hold President Bush and his fellow Republicans accountable for missteps in the Iraq war, as they seek to exploit a potential GOP vulnerability heading into Congress' midterm election year.

Outnumbered on Capitol Hill, Democrats are embracing the little power they have in the GOP-controlled House and Senate by using procedural techniques to highlight Iraq troubles and issue blistering critiques of Bush's war policies.

At the same time, increasing numbers of Democrats are calling for the president to start withdrawing U.S. troops by year's end and are laying out their own timetables for pulling out of the war-battered country.

"What the Democrats are saying essentially is, enough is enough. It's time to determine the facts and to hold the president accountable for the miscalculations, misjudgments and misrepresentations," said Steve McMahon, a Democratic consultant.

On Tuesday, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada surprised and infuriated Republicans by invoking an arcane Senate rule to force the chamber into closed session for more than two hours on Iraq and prewar intelligence.

Two days later, Reid's counterpart in the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) of California, tried unsuccessfully to get the GOP-controlled chamber to take up a measure condemning Republicans for "their refusal to conduct oversight" of the administration's Iraq war policy and order investigations into it.

In both cases, Democrats say Republican leaders have put political interests ahead of national security by failing in their oversight responsibilities of the Iraq war.

Republicans dismissed the actions as political stunts and accused Democrats of trying to steal news headlines from Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, said Senate Democrats were going "to extraordinary and unprecedented measures to obstruct the business of the American people. Because the Democrats have no ideas or agenda of their own, they've made an awkward attempt at changing the subject."

The Democrats' stepped-up campaign coincides with Bush's popularity plummeting to its lowest levels ever, with a new AP-Ipsos poll placing his approval rating at 37 percent.

It also coincides with two other high-profile events — the grim milestone of 2,000 U.S. military deaths in Iraq and the indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, in a case that touched on intelligence the president used in the run-up to the war.

Democrats say that gave them an opening to more aggressively press the administration to outline a plan for withdrawal and demand that Congress complete a stalled investigation into prewar intelligence.

Like Republicans, Democrats also have been feeling the heat from their constituents, who are growing increasingly frustrated with the war as casualties climb and costs soar. AP-Ipsos polling shows public support for Bush's handling of Iraq at its lowest point, also 37 percent.

Democrats hope aggressively pushing Bush on Iraq will unify their party and fracture Republicans by forcing GOP candidates to decide whether to stand with the president or distance themselves from him and his policies.

The minority party also is using its intensified effort on Iraq to raise money.

"Make a special donation and send a note of thanks to Harry Reid asking him to keep up the fight," said a fundraising e-mail from Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean, sent out the day of the closed Senate session.

In coming weeks, House Democrats, led by Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record) of Pennsylvania, plan to force the House to consider a Senate-approved ban on the "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of prisoners in U.S. custody. Members of both parties expect the House to side with the Senate, despite a White House veto threat.

A former Marine who served in Vietnam, Murtha rarely makes such public moves. But when the conservative Democrat speaks on military issues, colleagues tend to listen.

Murtha said Thursday that he has grown so concerned about some of the president's war policies that he plans a speech laying out his recommendations for the war before the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections in Iraq.

"This war is destroying our ability to meet the threat down the road," Murtha said.

Two other senior Democrats weighed in with speeches as well over the past two weeks.

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts called for a "reasonable time frame" for pulling back troops, and said 20,000 should start returning home in December if the elections go well. And former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle said all U.S. troops should be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2007.



Protest against Bush
US pays last respect to Rosa Parks with mourn and sangs
Protest against Israeli barrier in West Bank
 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Report: US, China agree on textile imports

 

   
 

Full steam ahead for Sino-Russian partnership

 

   
 

PLA cooks up new menus to beef up soldiers

 

   
 

EU urged to scrap arms embargo

 

   
 

Outbreak kills 9,000 chickens in Liaoning

 

   
 

China, Australia discuss free trade agreement

 

   
  Leaders debate trade; Protests wreak havoc
   
  Experts: Disaster-free zones hard to find
   
  Rioting spreads beyond Paris suburbs
   
  Iraq war 'fuelled terrorism'
   
  Cheney pushes Senate for CIA exemption
   
  U.S. launches major offensive in Iraq
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Manufacturers, Exporters, Wholesalers - Global trade starts here.
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 精品国产97在线观看 | 国产视频二区在线观看 | 一色屋精品亚洲香蕉网站 | 免费观看欧美一级牲片一 | 日韩欧国产精品一区综合无码 | 国内精品一区二区三区最新 | 日本三级欧美三级 | 国产精品久久久久久网站 | 欧美日韩精品一区二区另类 | 精品九九久久国内精品 | 久久一本一区二区三区 | 99久久国产综合精品国 | 亚洲高清二区 | 国产一区二区免费视频 | 国产日产韩产麻豆1区 | 视频二区好吊色永久视频 | 亚洲精品中文一区不卡 | 日本一级特黄啪啪片 | 国产图片亚洲精品一区 | 最近免费手机中文字幕3 | 国产精品久久久久一区二区 | 99精品福利视频在线一区 | 亚洲美女黄色片 | 久草天堂 | 国产在线精品福利一区二区三区 | 亚洲成人在线视频播放 | 亚洲免费视频在线 | 亚洲一片| 九九视频精品全部免费播放 | 中文字幕在线观看不卡视频 | 久在草| 99精品免费视频 | 国产成人综合日韩精品无 | 欧美一级特黄真人毛片 | 欧美一级日韩一级亚洲一级 | 亚洲精品线在线观看 | 欧美日韩亚洲综合久久久 | 久久久久综合一本久道 | 全部在线播放免费毛片 | 久久国产精品免费看 | 久久成人18免费网站 |