The House of Representatives provided $37 billion dollars to fund the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan which included funding to Vietnam war veterans exposed to Agent Orange and $3 billion for Haiti Relief efforts bringing the total to $58 billion dollars. The contentious vote signaled a divide between supporters and opponents of the continued war in Afghanistan.
The support came with strong backing from Republicans, despite the leak of thousands of classified documents by Wikileaks to various news organizations over the weekend. The spending bill had passed the Senate in May, but was being held up by Congressional Democrats who insisted including billions of dollars in domestic spending to help the ailing economy and to help preserve teacher's jobs.
The partisan divide is deepening as the nation draws closer to Novembers mid-term election, and both political parties are staking out territory on how this will play to the voters. The president is in a precarious situation, as the base of his party is extremely resistant to his surge of troops into Afghanistan, and Democrats want an end to combat operations in the region.
The biggest impediment of the president's war strategy is the date he articulated in December, that U.S. forces will begin withdrawing in July 2011. No matter what he states, this has always been based on conditions on the ground. To the people of Afghanistan this is a hallow jester of commitment, they remember the U.S. left before after the Russians pulled out in 1989, then left them to the chaotic aftermath.
The president needs to start articulating why the U.S. needs to be in Afghanistan? His administration needs to speak with one voice, not conflicting voices, or the U.S. will face the consequences!
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