What If Nobody Blinks on Iraq War Funding?

04/10/2007

Paul Munnis


If neither side blinks in this matter of war funding then the War in Iraq could end just as quickly as a pencil can be snapped in half.

Consider this scenario: Congress passes the legislation and sends it to Bush. Bush vetoes it. The Congress says they are done and that they have fully represented the people of America, that they even went further by offering Bush temporary time extensions to prove that his surge can work and that Bush chose instead to end the war with his veto. The troops then come home. The war is then over and troop and military funding is withheld. After the troops come home the issue of funding the military is again taken up by Congress in the context of rebuilding our military. In the meantime, Congress rescinds Mr. Bush’s war authority.

Bush can sputter, posture, threaten, move other funds around, but all to no avail. The money will run out and the troops must then come home. Timelines and schedules will be irrelevant topics. The default timeline will be driven by any available funds then its over with.

Is there any wonder then that Mr. Bush wants to discuss things with Congress? Even to negotiate things with Congress? Mr. Bush is on a razor thin edge right now with Congress. They will only agree to meet with him for political reasons of making a show and of looking reasonable. But, they have their minds pretty well made up, and poll after poll tells them they have it right. On top of it all, Mr. Bush is politically bankrupt.

My bet is that it is Mr. Bush who will blink. If he doesn’t, then the jig is up for the White House, the war is over with, the troops will come home, al Maliki will have to deal with al Sadr, and the Arabs will have to sort out their own mess in the mid-East. Americans will be happy while Mr. Bush can retire to the sidelines and wait for his term to expire.

The Bush alternative is to resign.