A letter from the White House to esteemed members of Congress relayed President Bush's intent to postpone implementation of section 1228 of the Defense Authorization Act for 2008 for 90 days. In his letter, Bush states:
Halting the provision of defense articles to Iraq during this period of review and implementation would be contrary to the national security of the United States.
A summary of section 1228 says nothing about the "halting of defense articles" mentioned by the President in his letter:
Sec. 1228) Directs the President to implement a policy to control the export and transfer of defense articles into Iraq, and to implement a defense articles registration and monitoring system. Authorizes the President to exempt items from such registration, after congressional notification. Requires: (1) periodic review of the items subject to such registration; and (2) the reporting of review results to specified congressional committees.
However, it does require the President to maintain a list of defense articles and only exempt items after notifying Congress. Might that be the sticking point and the reason for the 90 day postponement?
What does President Bush want to push into the Middle East's newest democracy that he doesn't want America's elected officials to know about? We certainly cannot impose on our President's freedom to make war, oops, I mean his freedom to launch pre-emptive attacks to defend the homeland. While Israeli military officials visit the Pentagon by the planeload, George Bush retains his sleight of hand on military puzzle pieces.
Halting the provision of defense articles to Iraq during this period of review and implementation would be contrary to the national security of the United States.
A summary of section 1228 says nothing about the "halting of defense articles" mentioned by the President in his letter:
Sec. 1228) Directs the President to implement a policy to control the export and transfer of defense articles into Iraq, and to implement a defense articles registration and monitoring system. Authorizes the President to exempt items from such registration, after congressional notification. Requires: (1) periodic review of the items subject to such registration; and (2) the reporting of review results to specified congressional committees.
However, it does require the President to maintain a list of defense articles and only exempt items after notifying Congress. Might that be the sticking point and the reason for the 90 day postponement?
What does President Bush want to push into the Middle East's newest democracy that he doesn't want America's elected officials to know about? We certainly cannot impose on our President's freedom to make war, oops, I mean his freedom to launch pre-emptive attacks to defend the homeland. While Israeli military officials visit the Pentagon by the planeload, George Bush retains his sleight of hand on military puzzle pieces.
