The latest AP article about the White House’s position on war funding is filled with interesting tidbits, but lacks a few details. Let’s fill in the gaps.
President Bush, under growing political pressure, said Thursday the White House will seek agreement with Congress on benchmarks to measure progress in Iraq.
What the AP article didn’t mention: Bush’s idea of “seeking agreement” is, by his own admission, to refuse negotiation and insist that Congress give him exactly what he wants without condition.
At the same time, the president pledged he would veto a bill, expected to be passed by the House later in the day, that would cut off money for the war by the end of July.
“We reject that idea. It won’t work,” the president said.
What the AP article didn’t mention: Bush’s policy already doesn’t work.
At the same time, Bush pressured Iraqi leaders to move swiftly on a number of measures, including legislation to share Iraq’s oil wealth, hold provincial elections and update the constitution.
“They have got to speed up their clock,” the president said. U.S. officials have urged Iraq’s parliament to abandon plans to take a two-month vacation this summer.
What the AP article didn’t mention: If Iraqis don’t speed up their clock, Bush doesn’t plan to do anything about it.
“One message I have heard from people of both parties is that benchmarks make sense and I agree,” Bush said. He said his chief of staff, Joshua Bolten, would talk with congressional leaders “to find common ground” on benchmarks.
What the AP article didn’t mention: According to the White House, benchmarks that include any kind of penalty must be rejected because “that would imply that you have a timetable, that you have certain deadlines.”
In other words, until the president is genuinely ready to make some kind of concessions, nothing has changed.