Why are the Dems stripping the war authorization provision?

why is this happening...?

Democratic leaders are stripping from a military spending bill for the war in Iraq a requirement that President Bush gain approval from Congress before moving against Iran.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other leaders agreed to remove the requirement concerning Iran after conservative Democrats as well as other lawmakers worried about its possible impact on Israel, officials said Monday.

do you suppose it has anything to do with cheney saying THIS to aipac yesterday...?

Congress does, of course, play a critical role in the defense of the nation and the conduct of a war. That role is defined and limited by the Constitution. After all, the military answers to one commander-in-chief in the White House, not 535 commanders-in-chief on Capitol Hill.

and here's the wussiness in action...

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said in an interview that there is widespread fear in Israel about Iran, which is believed to be seeking nuclear weapons and has expressed unremitting hostility about the Jewish state.

"It would take away perhaps the most important negotiating tool that the U.S. has when it comes to Iran," she said of the now-abandoned provision.

"I didn't think it was a very wise idea to take things off the table if you're trying to get people to modify their behavior and normalize it in a civilized way," said Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y.

Several officials said there was widespread opposition to the proposal at a closed-door meeting last week of conservative and moderate Democrats, who said they feared tying the hands of the administration when dealing with an unpredictable and potentially hostile regime in Tehran.

i don't think anybody is under any illusion that leaving such a provision in the bill will prevent bush from acting against iran... he's made it perfectly clear that he does what he goddam well pleases... and besides, as juan cole makes clear...

Those who said that such a provision would take the military option off the table with regard to Iran are simply wrong. It just required that the president make the case for a war to the legislature, which declares war. The option was still there if the legislature wanted it to be.

and, like me, professor cole is flummoxed at the ceaseless drum-banging for a war against iran... furthermore, he doesn't see that ultimately it will help israel either...

[A]fter the Iraq fiasco it is amazing to me that Washington is still talking about going to war against Middle Eastern countries that pose no threat to the US mainland. The US got where it is after World War II by mostly avoiding direct military campaigns and occupations. The US does not have the resources to occupy two Middle Eastern oil states, and trying to do so will break it as surely as imperial overstretch broke its predecessors among the great powers. Those who think all this is good for Israel are being short-sighted. If the US spirals down into a non-entity over the next 30 years as a result of over-stretch, Israel will be left without a great power patron and might well not survive. The Europeans are fed up with its militarism and itchy trigger finger, and it hasn't made any friends in its own region.

but, meanwhile, israel keeps adding to the drum-banging by encouraging the united states to "stand firm..."

olmert at the same aipac conference...

[Israel's Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert called Iran the greatest threat to the Jewish state and said it was building sophisticated weaponry systems and trying to create nuclear capacity.

[...]

Israel is widely assumed to have the region's only nuclear arsenal and Olmert has refused to rule out military strikes as a last resort for denying Iran the bomb.

Olmert told AIPAC, a Washington-based Israel lobbying group, that diplomacy was the preferred solution to forcing the Iranians to reconsider their nuclear position.

[...]

"All of you who are concerned about the security and the future of the state of Israel understand the importance of strong American leadership addressing the Iranian threat and I'm sure that you will not hamper or restrain that strong leadership unnecessarily," Olmert said.

don't worry, ehud... the dems have got your back...

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