SF Chronicle: (Barbara Lee's, Paul's, Jones's) Bid to end Afghan war funding hits GOP roadblock

[Faryn Balyncd]

Bid to end Afghan war funding hits GOP roadblock

Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau
San Francisco Chronicle February 22, 2011 04:00 AM






(02-22) 04:00 PST Washington - -- Amid a battle in the House over how to cut billions in spending, liberal Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland joined conservative Republicans Ron Paul of Texas and Walter Jones of North Carolina last week on a bill that could save more than $100 billion a year by ending the war in Afghanistan.


But they confront an even stranger coalition that opposes a quick pullout: President Obama and most of the 87 newly elected House Republicans, many of whom are backed by the Tea Party...


Since Obama escalated the war in 2009, bringing troop levels to more than 100,000, public opinion has increasingly soured, according to many polls. A recent CBS News poll showed 72 percent of the public favors a faster withdrawal; while a Gallup/USA Today poll this month showed majorities of Democrats, independents and Republicans favoring a speedier pullout........The war in Afghanistan, now in its 10th year, is longer than any war in U.S. history. Obama has promised to start withdrawing troops this summer, but Pentagon officials have warned against moving too fast........Lee was the only member of the House who voted against the authorization of the use of force in Afghanistan on Sept. 14, 2001 - three days after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington........."If you had told the American people we would still be in Afghanistan a decade later, perhaps there would have been a more thorough debate of that fateful vote less than a week after 9/11," Lee said. "It was a very difficult decision, but I voted against it, because I knew it would be a blank check to wage war anytime, anywhere, against any country, organization or individual. It was very open-ended. And my worst fears have really haunted me going back to that day."



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/21/MN3M1HQ55M.DTL#ixzz1EnqFB1yr


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2011%2F02%2F21%2FMN3M1HQ55M.DTL

[Faryn Balyncd]

1. We need a few more Representatives to learn a lesson from the streets of Madison...:

...Without outrage and guts, we will find ourselves screwed.

[Poboy]

2. recommend

[Faryn Balyncd]

3. If only we had 193 Barbara Lees.