Can Bush legally have his surge without the approval of congress???

[brettdale]

Serious question.

[onecent]

1. I would love to know also. My husband and I go round and round

about this.

[MannyGoldstein]

2. Yes. Congress Probably Has No Real Say in HOW to Wage War

Congress said "It's OK to go to war". The President decides how to do it.

That's about the extent of what Congress can do. In theory, the Congress can yank funding from future budgets. Realistically, all they can do is impeach. Which is what they should do - Bush is evil, insane, and has shredded the Constitution.

[Leilani]

3. I believe so.

The IWR gave him pretty broad authority, plus the power of Commander-in-Chief is pretty definitive.

The Congress controls the money, & that is the power they have against him.

Money already in the pipeline, gives him months to fund this debacle.

[TexasProgresive]

4. Well the IWR gave him permission to use force and

the amount of troops total will not be higher then they have been in the past. So I guess so. The problem is that congress long ago gave up their power to declare war.

[MonkeyFunk]

5. Yes

he can.

Congress' only option is to stop funding the war. They have no power over troop levels, troop movements, etc.

[babylonsister]

6. I've heard differing opinions, which is why we might be facing

a constitutional crisis. I don't really know if there is an answer, or if it depends on how the constitution is or isn't interpreted.

[in_cog_ni_to]

10. Jonathan Turley told KO that the psycho DOES have the power to escalate this war, but Congress

can stop him by not funding it. However, the psycho KNOWS this and that's why he's rushing the troops to Iraq. Snowe said they have funds that were allocated in 2006. They can use those funds to get the troops to Iraq. Once the troops are in Iraq, Congress will NOT withhold funds. These people are Diabolical.

[Igel]

7. If he has the money to get it underway, yes.

Then he can come and ask for more money, with the option from the Dem. House being to fund the then-current state of affairs or to deny funding.

Even if he doesn't have the money, he can probably still pull it off.

The president has to report an increase in troop levels and "consult": I've consulted and been consulted, and knew full well ahead of time that I'd take or leave what my "consultees" said depending what I thought about it, and that there was no requirement that what I said as a "consultee" would be followed. If 'consult' is to mean'obey' the War Powers Resolution would have said 'obey'.

[in_cog_ni_to]

8. Yep. The ONLY thing Congress can do is stop the flow of $$$$$.

That's why the psycho is rushing the escalation. Once the troops are in Iraq, Congress will NEVER withhold funds and the psycho knows that. Ever wonder why it was taking the freak so long to make a decision about what to do after he received the Iraq Study Group's report? He was planning THIS escalation, had the whole thing planned and ready to go so Congress couldn't stop him in time. The man is INSANE. EVIL and INSANE.

[spanone]

9. You Can Bet Cheney Will Take It To The Supreme Court...In A Heartbeat.

Cheney wants to nullify all branches of government except the exec.

He basically has already done it.

[wildwww2]

11. He has murdered our troops and Iraqi civilians based on a pack of lies!

Asking if he is going to stop the needless killing. Sounds like a rhetorical question to me. And congress is a sick joke. Because they think if they stop our troops from being used as cannon fodder they are not supporting them. I'm really upset that this Iraqnam quagmire cannot be stopped. But the bottom line belongs to the corporate profits this war crime generates. And our wimpy congress for the most part are lapdogs for the corporations that are making money off of all this senseless death.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[Cleita]

12. Considering he jumped the invasion of Iraq even though

the IWR was really about taking it to the United Nations, it was permission enough for him to invade. Now I think he believes he "don't need no stinkin' permission to "surge" (translate: escalate).

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

13. The sneaky part of this "surge" is that they are including military that is already in

Iraq, who were supposed to come home now, but now have to wait until August.
NJ Nat'l Guardsmen are being ordered to do just that. John Corzine the Gov is trying to stop that and the families are up in arms about this.

The point is, that if the Dems withhold funds, the Repukes are going to say that the Dems don't give a damn about the troops, which my guess, a great many of the "surge" are already in country just like the NJ Guard.

http://www.kwqc.com/Global/story.asp?S=5936186&nav=menu83_3

Families unhappy about National Guard unit's extension

WEST ORANGE, N.J. Relatives of New Jersey Army National Guard soldiers who will be staying in Iraq four months longer than expected are voicing their anger and disappointment to state officials.
One of their biggest complaints is that soldiers in Iraq learned of the extension either through the media or through family members, who were alerted Thursday.

At a meeting at the West Orange armory today, New Jersey's adjutant general said that state officials had nothing to do with the extension and have no power to stop it.

But Governor Jon Corzine told relatives it was "unacceptable" that the soldiers had not yet received the news and said he would discuss the matter with Pentagon officials.

The extension is part of President Bush's plans to increase troops strength in Iraq. The 159 Guardsmen affected are from New Jersey, Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania.

[PFunk]

14. I think he can...

...However he can't prolong it unless congress cuts off funds for it when it's time to ask them for funds again. And I hope congress does just that. Let them take it to the supreme court. However, the next president will find it harder to start another war again after this one.

[rodeodance]

15. Kennedy said last week that it is a new mission--not the one

we went into iraq with years ago and thus requires reapproval.
I heard him say this---

[scarletwoman]

16. Since when has something NOT being legal stopped him from doing it?

His minions will argue that it's legal whether it is or not. And he'll just go on doing whatever the hell he wants to do no matter what.

The ONLY way to stop this is to stop HIM (and Cheney) with impeachment.

sw

[mdmc]

17. Who will stop him?

:shrug: