Detroit News: "Quit Playing Political Games and Fund U.S. Troops in Iraq"

Op-Ed

By Tim Walberg

Just more than 100 days ago, on Feb. 5, President Bush requested from Congress funding for our troops in Iraq.

Even though current funding for our troops is set to expire at the end of May, the new leadership in the House of Representatives has yet to put forth a bill that even comes close to properly financing our troops or allowing American commanders an opportunity to implement the new strategy.

New House leadership first introduced a bill in March that not only micromanaged the troops, but also contained millions of dollars of unrelated pork-barrel projects to buy a few votes for bad legislation.

The bill was a salad bar of egregious earmarks: $25 million for payments to spinach producers, $120 million to the shrimp industry, $74 million for peanut storage and $5 million for shellfish, oyster and clam producers are a few examples.

This bill was rightfully vetoed. In response, House leadership scrambled last week and passed a bill that would give our troops a very limited allowance, fail to properly equip them and restrict the abilities of our generals to do long-term planning.

No wonder Congress has a 29 percent approval rating.

As soon as this bill passes the Senate, it will get vetoed, and Congress will be back to square one.

House leadership should put aside any plans to go on break until a clean funding bill is passed to support our men and women in combat. Our troops deserve this respect.

Recently the Iraqi government, after complaints from the U.S. Congress, decided to forgo plans for a two-month summer recess so important decisions, such as the development and distribution of Iraq's oil, can be made and laws can be passed.

Congress similarly should not go home for more than a week and leave our troops in limbo. Let's stay and finish our job so our brave men and women in uniform can finish theirs.

House leadership needs to allow members to vote on a clean bill, one devoid of wasteful, nonmilitary spending. We need a bill that doesn't handcuff our generals, but instead gives our troops the resources they need.

Setting timelines on American involvement in Iraq is good policy, but any such measure must not be public and must be known only by military commanders close to the situation.

Congress needs to give Gen. David Petraeus, the new commander in Iraq confirmed unanimously by the Senate, a chance to fully implement his new strategy, instead of telegraphing a surrender date to terrorists.

In the Anbar Province, one of the most dangerous areas in Iraq, violent crime is dropping and 20 of 22 tribal leaders in that area now support U.S. and Iraqi forces against al-Qaida.

Granted, the level of violence remains high in the hot spots and many challenges persist. But the wounded soldiers I have met at Walter Reed hospital indicate our Armed Forces can secure Iraq enough so an Iraqi government and security forces can take over.

Time is running out. Congress needs to move past political posturing and partisanship and allow the men and women serving in Iraq the opportunity to crush the terrorists in the Middle East so our families will have a more secure future here at home.

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