Vacation, all they ever wanted….

May 3, 2007

When the going gets tough, the tough leave town for a couple of months. (thanks to S.W. for the tip)

Lawmakers divided over whether to keep U.S. troops in Iraq are finding common ground on at least one topic: They are furious that Iraqi politicians are considering a lengthy break this summer.

“If they go off on vacation for two months while our troops fight — that would be the outrage of outrages,” said Rep. Chris Shays, R-Connecticut.

As the AP explained, the Iraq parliament’s recess would start in July, almost certainly without a resolution to questions about distribution of oil revenues, militias, Sunni representation, etc.

I guess this means we’re not going to meet this summer’s political benchmarks.

In fact for their many areas of disagreement, Dems and Republicans, left and right, all seem to agree that a two-month recess looks pretty bad.

“That is not acceptable,” Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) said. “An action of that consequence would send a very bad signal to the world that they don’t have the resolve that matches the resolve of the brave troops that are fighting in the battle today.”

Added Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), “I certainly hope they’re not going to take any sort of recess when the question is whether they’re going to make any progress.”

Iraqi officials appear to see the matter differently. If they’re putting their lives on the line to engage in political negotiations that aren’t going anywhere, why not take some time off … and get the heck out of Iraq?

As for the political implications of all this, I’d argue that this strengthens the Dems’ hand in the fight over war funding. For Pelosi, Reid, and the caucus, this is a chance to highlight the failure of the president’s war policy and the failures amongst Iraqis to make progress.

High-profile Republicans are calling this “outrageous” and “unacceptable”? Fine, Dems say. What does the GOP propose to do about their indignation? Give Bush another blank check to maintain the status quo?

Dems are looking for an edge in negotiations. This might help.

As for where Iraqis may have gotten the idea for this kind of summer break:

Congress leaves for four weeks each August and takes a week off, sometimes more, around prominent holidays. Lawmakers frequently adjourn for the August recess without reaching agreements on important legislation.

There are, of course, a few differences. One, Washington is not under siege. Two, Iraqi lawmakers aren’t talking about a recess so they can make political appearances in their home districts; if there’s a recess, they’ll probably leave the country.

They all have brush that needs clearing at their ranches…Surely the Republicans can understand that?

  • the Iraq parliament’s recess would start in July, almost certainly without a resolution to questions about distribution of oil revenues

    I’d love to know the details about Iraqi oil revenues. Does anyone have any knowledge and/or a link. How much are they pumping/selling?? Who is buying it, is it just the U.S.?? Are American oil companies buying it at a discount or at ‘fair market value’? Are the Iraqis giving oil to our government (or the oil companies) as an offset to the cost of our protection??

  • Here’s an idea: Why don’t we give all of our troops a two-month holiday to come back home to be with their families, too? The Iraqi parliament would surely see the fairness of that.

    What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, after all.

  • Curmudgeon makes a good point. Bring the troops home for 60 days—and then don’t give Bu$h another dime’s worth of funding.

    As for where the Iraqi legislators learned this idea—we have but to look at the final days/weeks/months/years of the ReThuglican Congress. “Impasse” for Iraq is pretty synonymous with “lame-duck” for Bushylvania, y’know….

  • If the Iraqis don’t make some serious progress soon, it will be the end of the Republicans. But who are the Republicans to criticize, when their leader is the world record holder for taking extended vacations?

  • “if there’s a recess, they’ll probably leave the country.”

    By all accounts, a lot of them are not there anyway. Juan Cole has often pointed out that the parliament usually cannot even find a quorum, because so many of the members live abroad. Why the MSM can’t be bothered to report such details escapes me.

    Oh yes, they’re too busy talking about Edwards’ haircut, and other pressing issues –

  • Give them a break. It’s hot there in the summer. Bush takes long vacations while our troops fight, and while American cities drown. Where’s the outrage about that?

    Only the Carpetbagger never takes a break.

  • There is an opportunity here: Tie the next funding bill to a commitment from the Iraqi government that they will not go on vacation. It has to have some additional teeth, in that they also have to accomplish something. But, if they go on vacation, the money tap goes dry.

  • and Three – Baghdad is about 120 degrees in the summertime. Electricity for air conditioning is spotty at best.

    Not too long ago, foreign diplomats used to get hardship pay for having to be in DC during the summer? And here it rarely gets above 100

  • Hasn’t Bush taken every August off since he became prez? Had to see why, given Bush’s track record, the Iraqis shouldn’t do the same.

  • Of course they want their vacation, who wouldn’t want to, in their situation? And since Bush has been such a good friend to them — no consequences for not meeting the “benchmarks” — there’s no reason why they shouldn’t. It’s their — free and democratic — country, no?

    So let’s bring the troops home at the beginning of July too. And not for just 2 months, but for good.

  • Maybe the Shia controlled parliament knows this is going to be a long hot summer in Baghdad. Maybe they know what the Shia militias and the Sunni insurgents have in mind.

  • Negotiations- Ha. They have not been able to reach any agreements on anything. The Sunnis are walking out of National Government, the Shiite Madhi Army reps have already walked out. They want a vacation because they are tired of dealing with an impossible situation. The only ones who think this government ‘should’ work is Bush and company. We are so busy trying to prop up this Shiite majority who claim they will share power with the people who terrorized them for 30+ years(the Sunnis) that we can’t see that it’s not what “we” want but what “they” want and to even suggest taking a vacation ‘Now” pretty much tells how badly they want a national government.

  • chuckle chuckle…It is a good thing that we send people to die for them. Perhaps we can pay them extra to stay on through the summer…too funny

    • Comments are closed.