WHO WANTS TO STOP THE WAR... I MEAN FOR REAL?

I stayed kind of neutral in the battle for Majority Leader. I was wrong. With all his shortcomings, I should have backed Murtha instead of saying they're both corrupt and they're both too pro-Business. Short of a Republican, Bush couldn't have found someone better than Hoyer.

Today Congressman Murtha decided to update and reintroduce his Iraq Redeployment Resolution, originally submitted November 17, 2005. Today there are a mixed bag of 74 co-sponsors. These are people who would rather stop the war than send Bush a nonbinding symbolic message:


David Wu (OR)
Robert Brady (PA)
Michael Doyle (PA)
Michael Capuano (MA)
Jim Moran (VA)
Marcy Kaptur (OH)
Barbara Lee (CA)
Lloyd Doggett (TX)
Rush Holt (NJ)
John Olver (MA)
Betty McCollum (MN)
Earl Blumenauer (OR)
Zoe Lofgren (CA)
Corrine Brown (FL)
Al Green (TX)
Jerrold Nadler (NY)
Sam Farr (CA)
Mike Thompson (CA)
Edward Markey (MA)
Tom Allen (ME)
Michael Michaud (ME)
Jan Schakowsky (IL)
Anthony Weiner (NY)
Patrick Murphy (PA)
Jim McDermott (WA)
Louise Slaughter (NY)
William Lacy Clay (MO)
Diane Watson (CA)
Steven Rothman (NJ)
Maurice Hinchey (NY)
Alan Mollohan (WV)
Michael Honda (CA)
Carolyn Maloney (NY)
Sheila Jackson Lee (TX)
Doris Matsui (CA)
Pete Visclosky (IN)
Dennis Kucinich (OH)
Donald Payne (NJ)
Lois Capps (CA)
Xavier Becerra (CA)
Tammy Baldwin (WI)
George Miller (CA)
Maxine Waters (CA)
Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH)
Gregory Meeks (NY)
John Lewis (GA)
Bobby Rush (IL)
Tom Udall (NM)
Charles Rangel (NY)
James Clyburn (SC)
Tim Ryan (OH)
Kendrick Meek (FL)
Donna Christensen (VI)
Barney Frank (MA)
John Larson (CT)
Luis Gutierrez (IL)
Elijah Cummings (MD)
Joe Baca (CA)
Hilda Solis (CA)
Bill Pascrell (NJ)
Pete Stark (CA)
William Delahunt (MA)
Chaka Fattah (PA)
James McGovern (MA)
Grace Napolitano (CA)
Richard Neal (MA)
Gwen Moore (WI)
Frank Pallone (NJ)
Anna Eshoo (CA)
Nydia Velasquez (NY)
Jesse Jackson Jr. (IL)
Paul Kanjorski (PA)
Albert Wynn (MD)

Where are the fucking freshmen (other than Patrick Murphy)? Funny that Al Wynn is on this list but I can't find John Hall or Jerry McNerney or Chris Carney or Bruce Braley or Paul Hodes or Carol Shea-Porter or Kirsten Gillibrand.

JOINT RESOLUTION
To redeploy U.S. forces from Iraq.
Whereas Congress and the American people have not been shown clear, measurable progress toward establishment of stable and improving security in Iraq or of a stable and improving economy in Iraq, both of which are essential to `promote the emergence of a democratic government';
Whereas additional stabilization in Iraq by U.S. military forces cannot be achieved without the deployment of hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. troops, which in turn cannot be achieved without a military draft;
Whereas more than $277 billion $471 billion has been appropriated by the United States Congress to prosecute U.S. military action in Iraq and Afghanistan;
Whereas, as of the drafting of this resolution, 2,079 U.S. troops 3,020 3,024 US troops have been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom;
Whereas U.S. forces have become the target of the insurgency;
Whereas, according to recent polls, over 80 percent of the Iraqi people 91% of Sunni Iraqis and 74% of Shiite Iraqis want the U.S. forces out of Iraq;
Whereas polls also indicate that 45 percent 61 percent of the Iraqi people feel that the attacks on U.S. forces are justified; and
Whereas, due to the foregoing, Congress finds it evident that continuing U.S. military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the people of Iraq, or the Persian Gulf Region, which were cited in Public Law 107-243 as justification for undertaking such action: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That:
SECTION 1. The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date.
SEC. 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines shall be deployed in the region.
SEC. 3. The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy.

UPDATE: ANOTHER GOOD BILL TO END THE WAR

Thank God not all House members are waiting for Hoyer to do something about ending the war. Congresswomen Lynn Woolsey, Maxine Waters and Barbara Lee just introduced the Bring Our Troops Home and Sovereignty of Iraq Restoration Act. Woolsey says the bill would do the following:

1. Withdraw all U.S. troops and military contractors from Iraq within six months from date of enactment.


2. Prohibit any further funding to deploy, or continue to deploy U.S. troops in Iraq.  The bill does, however, allow for funding to be used, as needed, to ensure a safe withdrawal of all US military personnel and contractors, diplomatic consultations.  Funding may also be used for the increased training and equipping of Iraqi and international security forces.


3. Accelerate, during the six month transition, training of a permanent Iraqi security force.


4. Authorize, if requested by the Iraqi government, U.S. support for an international stabilization force.  Such a force would be funded for no longer than two years, and be combined with economic and humanitarian assistance.


5. Guarantee full health care funding, including mental health, for U.S. veterans of military operations in Iraq and other conflicts.


In addition the bill would:
6. Rescind the Congressional Authorization for the War in Iraq.


7. Prohibit the construction of permanent US military bases in the country.


8. Finally, we believe that Iraqi oil belongs to the Iraqis.  Once the oil is in the international market, the U.S. will certainly have access to our share.  That’s why our bill ensures that the U.S. has no long-term control over Iraqi oil.

UPDATE: A LOOK AT HOW THE SENATE CAN ACTUALLY STOP THE BUSH/McCAIN ESCALATION

Bob Geiger put together an informative piece on the ins and outs of the various proposals to stop the war for anyone who is confused about how the Kennedy bill differs from the Dodd bill and they both differ from Biden-Hagel-Levin.