What good is it if Congress passes a non-binding resolution ...

[harveyc]

against sending more troops to Iraq and then they vote to fund it? Sounds like a cop out to me.

[Robbien]

1. Every single presidential candidate can say they sponsored a resolution

It means nothing except politics.

I see Obama and Clinton each are going to push their own separate resolutions.

[harveyc]

2. How sad ...

politics ... while our soldiers continue to die in a failed war. 21 US soldiers have died in Iraq since 1/4/07.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

3. Impeach, Impeach, Impeach

eom

[louis-t]

4. It allows shithead to hang himself...

at the cost of American lives. Yes, it's politics. If stupidass goes forward with his stupid plan (he will anyway) and it fails (which it will) Repugs will be in the minority for a generation. On the upside, it may save lives in the long run. If his plan fails (it will), it will shred any credibility he has left and he doesn't stand a chance in Hell of carpet bombing Iran and perhaps getting us all killed. Of course, if he is stopped now, he may succeed in blaming Dems for "causing us to lose". Tough choice.

[harveyc]

5. It might be Shrub's plan but ...

if the Congress approves funding for the Iraq war, the blood of our soldiers is going to be on their hands also. What the hell good is a non-binding resolution, it doesn't end this nightmare. Cutting off funding, except for withdrawal/redeployment, for the Iraq war does.

[Meldread]

6. The problem with cutting the funding is that...

...Bush has made it abundantly clear that no matter what they do, he is going to perform an escalation. So if they cut the funding it is only going to hurt the troops, not Bush who is ultimately getting what he wants anyway. Furthermore, if they cut the funding the moment troops start dying (as we know they will) the Republicans, specifically the Administration, will point to Congress and lay the blame on them for cutting the funding.

So in this case, passing a non-binding resolution is the best way of dealing with the situation. It sends the message that Congress doesn't approve, and it also will gain at least some Republican votes - Congress could even potentially pass it overwhelmingly. It will also serve to further isolate Bush from the Republican Party, making it easier for Democrats and moderate Republicans to open fire on him without him having much support.

[harveyc]

7. That is all well and good but ...

our soldiers continue to be killed in Iraq. This Congress was elected to bring an end to this insane war.

If they approve next month's Iraq supplemental for $100 - $120 billion there will be sufficient funding through the 2008 elections and Congress will be powerless to do anything about the war in the mean time except talk. If Congress buys it, they own it (Campbell v. Clinton, 1999).

[MasterDarkNinja]

8. I think the last congress already funded the war for the rest of the fiscal year

Which means that congress might not be able to do anything about it until the fiscal year is over.

It's also politics to vote on a nonbinding resolution. It could really hurt the republicans in 08 (for the house and senate races anyway) if the Iraq war grows even less popular if the dems could just say "my opponent voted for troop surge that failed miserably, like almost all experts on Iraq said it would".