BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

In case anyone hasn’t noticed, for the past seven years the present administration has worked under a special set of self-imposed rules notoriously referred to as Cheney’s Law. 

If there is a soul left in America who believes that our country operates a transparent government, they need to be in the “get your head checked” waiting line.  Nothing about politics is what is seems on the surface.  There is little debate about that. 

Now, President Bush is willing to make an agreement with the Iraqi government that would keep our troops in Iraq indefinitely.  And, he is willing to sacrifice our troops for his agreement without putting it to a vote in Congress.

We are back to arguing semantics.  Bush says that it isn’t a treaty according to the Boston Globe.

Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki have already agreed that a coming compact will include the United States providing “security assurances and commitments” to Iraq to deter any foreign invasion or internal terrorism by “outlaw groups.” But a top White House official has also said that Bush does not intend to submit the deal to Congress.

“We don’t anticipate now that these negotiations will lead to the status of a formal treaty which would then bring us to formal negotiations or formal inputs from the Congress,” General Douglas Lute, Bush’s deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan, said in November when the White House announced the plan.

Call it a treaty.  Call it a compact.  Call it whatever you want to call it.  Should the President be able to commit America to an ongoing plan that will involve us (”we, the citizens”) and our children for years to come without putting the plan before Congress?