Bush the trickster is at it again

Congress to their great credit finally stood up to the Dick and the Bush and passed two versions of a bill providing supplemental funds for the Iraq adventure. But,as the people demanded last Nov. 7Th they added certain very mild conditions with regard to ending the war and bringing the troops home. They still have to transform these two bills into one and send it to the president for his signature.

That's where the problem arises. Bush says that if the bill contains any conditions on his power to continue the war to his heart's content, he will veto it.

Now there are many roads he could take other than a veto. He could compromise with the Democratic controlled Congress, he could sign the bill and add one of his famous signing statements saying that he will not adhere to the conditions set out in the bill to control his behavior. But instead he has chosen the road of greatest confrontation rather than compromise. In other words, he is willing to place the troops at greater risk and to withhold money he claims is necessary from them to do their job. And now in pure Bushspeak he is blaming the Democrats, who passed the bill, for withholding the funding.

This is what magicians call the "turn" or the move that distracts your attention so that they can pull the rabbit out of the hat. The American people can't allow themselves to be distracted from the obvious: It's Bush who is withholding the money from the troops with his veto and not the Democratically controlled Congress who passed the bills in the first place.

"Mr. Bush told reporters April 3 that the funding delay would mean troops may have to stay in Iraq longer than planned.

"'That is unacceptable to me, and I believe it is unacceptable to the American people,' he said."

Then to undermine his own trick Bush sent "Defense Secretary Robert Gates [out to announce] Wednesday the Army would keep troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for 15-month tours instead of the yearlong stints that have become standard. The three-month extension [is necessary to] allow the Pentagon to maintain its 30,000-troop buildup in Baghdad for another year.

"The announcement 'just underscores the fact that the burden of the war in Iraq has fallen upon our troops and their families,' said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. 'The Bush administration has failed to create a plan to fully equip and train our troops, bring them home safely and soon, and provide our veterans with the quality care they deserve.'" (SignOnSanDiego.com)

One thing that Bush is right about is that the American people won't accept this latest Bush attempt to distract them from the task at hand: Bringing the troops home.