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Pelosi's Disastrous Misstep on Iran

John Nichols Tue Mar 13,
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20070313/cm_thenation/1174804

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her allies in the chamber's
Democratic leadership initially accepted that spending legislation
designed to outline an Iraq exit strategy should also include a
provision barring the president from attacking Iran without
congressional approval, they opened up a monumental discussion about
presidential war powers.

As such, the decision by Pelosi and her allies to rewrite their Iraq
legislation to exclude the statement regarding the need for
congressional approval of any military assault on the neighboring
country of Iran sends the worst possible signal to the White House.

It is not too much to suggest that Pelosi disastrous misstep could
haunt her and the Congress for years to come.

Here's how the Speaker messed up:

The Democratic proposal for a timeline to withdraw troops from Iraq
included a provision that would have required
President Bush to seek congressional approval before using military
force in Iran. It was an entirely appropriate piece of the Iraq
proposal, as the past experiences of U.S. involvement in southeast
Asia and Latin America has well illustrated that when wars bleed
across borders it becomes significantly more difficult to end them.
Thus, fears about the prospect that Bush might attack Iran are
legitimately related to the debate about how and when to end the
occupation of Iraq.

Unfortunately, Pelosi is so desperate to advance her flawed spending
legislation that she is willing to bargain with any Democrat about any
part of the proposal.

Under pressure from some conservative members of her caucus, and from
lobbyists associated with neoconservative groupings that want war with
Iran and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC),
Pelosi agreed on Monday to strip the Iran provision from the spending
bill that has become the House leadership's primary vehicle for
challenging the administration's policies in the region.

One of the chief advocates for eliminating the Iran provision, Nevada
Democrat Shelley Berkley, said she wanted it out of the legislation
because she wants to maintain the threat of U.S. military action as a
tool in seeking to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. "It
would take away perhaps the most important negotiating tool that the
U.S. has when it comes to Iran," explained Berkley.

The problem with Berkley's "reasoning" -- if it can be called that --
is this: Nothing in the provision that had been included in the
spending bill would have prevented Bush from threatening Iran. Nothing
in the provision would have prevented war with Iran. It merely
reminded the president that, before launching such an attack, he would
need to obey the Constitutional requirement that he seek a declaration
of war.

By first including the provision and then removing it, Pelosi and her
aides have given Bush more of an opening to claim that he does not
require Congressional approval.

Again and again, the Bush administration has seized any and every
opening to claim powers that were never accorded the executive branch
by the Constitution or the Congress. Remember that this administration
has sought to justify a massive, unregulated domestic spying program
by claiming authority under narrow legislation that was passed
permitting the president to respond to the September 11, 2OO1, attacks
on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Never mind that no mention
of such spying was included in the 2OO1 legislation; the fact that it
was not explicitly barred gave the administration all the room it
required to claim the power to disregard the Constitution and the rule
of law.

By stripping the Iran provision from the legislation that is now under
consideration by Congress, Pelosi has handed Bush and Vice President
Dick Cheney -- no believer he is the separation of powers -- exactly
what they want. They can and will say that, when the question of
whether Congress should require the administration to seek
Congressional approval for an attack on Iran, Pelosi chose not to
pursue the matter.

Anyone who thinks that Bush and Cheney will fail to exploit this
profound misstep by Pelosi has not been paying attention for the past
six years. The speaker has erred, dramatically and dangerously.

Pelosi should reverse her decision and restore the Iran provision to
the legislation. It is the only way to check and balance an
administration that stands ready to exploit every opening it is given
by a naive and inept Congress.

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namaste;
bodhi
http://psychedelictourist.blogspot.com