Clinton’s New Legislation Challenges Bush on Iraq
07 December 2007 5:00 pm by Taylor Marsh
Clinton’s New Legislation Challenges Bush on Iraq
“The Bush Administration must not circumvent Congress on the critical
issue of the future U.S. presence in Iraq. The Administration must not be
permitted to enter into agreements that could lead to permanent bases in Iraq
which would damage U.S. interests in Iraq and the broader region without Congressional
approval.” – Senator Hillary Clinton
Clinton’s new legislation hasn’t gotten any coverage at all, besides reader
RalphB in the comments that is, but it ties in perfectly with what
Emptywheel wrote about today. Senator Whitehouse ripped into the Bush about
his complete lack of respect for the rule of law. It goes to the disrespect
he also has for Congress, which is finally causing some reaction from a few
senators, all of whom have let this go on far too long, especially on Iraq.
Clinton’s Iraq legislation would require congressional approval for security
agreements with Iraq, which is a direct challenge to Bush’s Declaration
of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship Between
the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America, which Mr.
Bush pronounced around Thanksgiving. His intent was to make it less than
a treaty so he could bypass the Senate, effectively neutering them so he could
do what he wanted in Iraq. Same thing as Emptywheel is talking about today,
only it’s the Iraq version as opposed to the U.S. version.
Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Robert Byrd (D-WV), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Carl Levin
(D-MI), and Jim Webb (D-VA) and Clinton also sent another
letter to Bush on Iraq, this is in addition to the
one she sent in November.
Clinton’s legislation, according to her
Senate website:
The legislation requires:
• No funds may be authorized or appropriated to carry out any bilateral
agreement between the United States and Iraq involving “commitments
or risks affecting the nation as a whole,” including a status of forces
agreement (SOFA), that is not a treaty approved by two-thirds of the Senate
under Article II of the Constitution or authorized by legislation passed by
both Houses of Congress.• The State Department Legal Advisor must provide to the Congress a
memorandum evaluating the President’s decision to deny Congress its
constitutionally protected role by concluding an agreement on the future of
the U.S.-Iraqi security relationship as an executive agreement without the
assent of the Congress.• The memorandum must include an analysis of the Constitutional powers
relied on by the President in reaching the conclusion that such an agreement
does not require approval by the Congress.• It is the sense of Congress that any bilateral agreement between
the United States and Iraq involving “commitments or risks affecting
the nation as a whole”, including a status of forces agreement (SOFA),
that is not a treaty approved by two-thirds of the Senate under Article II
of the Constitution or authorized by legislation, does not have the force
of law.
This will go down well in Iowa. That is if anyone bothers to cover it. However,
with Oprah blowing in this weekend it’s not likely to see the light of day.
