Senate passes mammoth 648 billion defense bill Mon Oct 1, 8:06 PM ET



"WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Senate Monday passed a mammoth 648 billion dollar defense policy bill, shorn of attempts by disappointed anti-war Democrats to dictate President George W. Bush's Iraq strategy.

The bill included around 128 billion dollars for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate.

The legislation passed by 92 votes to three after Democrats lost several attempts to dictate US troop levels in Iraq.

While the Department of Defense Authorization bill for fiscal year 2008 sets the size of programs, funds can only be disbursed after the passage of a Senate defense spending bill due to be taken up by the chamber this week.

The most significant Iraq related portion of the bill was an amendment backed by Democratic Senator Joseph Biden which passed last week, calling for a federalization of Iraq, with large amounts of power ceded to the provinces.

The amendment was however non-binding and will not force Bush to change strategy in the unpopular war.

Democrats failed by only four votes to include an amendment which would require troops who served in Iraq or Afghanistan to be granted as much time at home as they spent on combat deployments.

The bill would have effectively limited the number of troops available for deployment, and cut the size of the 160,000 strong US force in Iraq more quickly than the gradual reductions which Bush has promised.

The House of Representatives has already passed its version of the Defense authorization."


Stunning. Unbelievable. But Bush will veto a bill to provide American children with health care benefits? Well of course, after *defense* spending has bankrupted the government there won't be anything left to spend on our kids.

This is insane.

OUR kids!!!! Aren't you living in Moscow? Isn't that somewhere in Russia? I don't see what all the above has to do with you. Are conditions so wonderful there? If they are, why are so many Russian people coming here to this terrible country to live? Just a thought! War is insane, but we were attacked, we didn't ask for this war. If another country tries to invade the United States we can't fight them off with health care. In a perfect world there would be no wars, and no disease, so no need for health care...If it ain't soup, its nuts!! An old Italian saying.

Of course personal attacks are relevant no matter what the topic.....

Chatty, you know how we love to agree to disagree; so here goes: It doesn’t matter if you are living in Timbuktu or in the back woods of the Appalachians…if you are an American Citizen,…that is what you are, and no one can take that away from you.
Just because the soil under your feet belongs to America, doesn’t mean you are any more American then US citizens living outside of the country. In fact when you live outside of America the love for the “öld” homeland can be extremely loyal and intense. What counts is where your heart is; not where your feet are.

Thanks for this post Mrs. Madness. I found it extremely interesting.

According to my brother and other friends in the US., who have had the opportunity to compare the European news with the American news on Iraq. They all say the news is obviously screened and filtered out in America.
For example,…Did you know that almost 200 American soldiers have committed suicide in Iraq ?
Videos filmed by US soldiers are shown here on TV. They show young kids; “our” soldiers crying, confused and not understanding what their missions is. These same films are banned in the US. Meanwhile more American soldiers have died in this war, then civilians have died in 9/11.

I'm not doing any anti- war campaigning here;...just stating some fact that you may not have been informed about.

I think Sally Fields said it best at the last award show I watched, "If the mothers ran the world, there would be no wars?" She may have a point there...

Yes, Hannelore and Mrs. Madness, we agree to disagree but all our hearts I believe are in the right place. We are women, and mothers, of sons and daughters we all love more than life itself...War sucks!!!

Thanks for posting this, Mrs. Madness.

It really bothers me that I work in schools that do not have enough money to keep our children safe, yet we have enough money to fight a war that has nothing to do with our national security, even though we talk as if we are protecting our own.

I am not Bush bashing, anti-American or wanting to debate here. But I do think, around the whole world, our priorities are a bit out of order.

Yes, DOD does filter that which is truth in an effort to continue recruitment. Did ya'll know that soldiers are required to carry life insurance? The ServiceMembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) is mandatory and I believe anywhere from $50K to $400K increments. Also, I think some taxes are exempt to beneficiaries. Although it is sad that a soldier's death benefits a family member financially, it also affects tax payers. In any event, we all lose when a soldier dies. The SGLI usually will not be paid for suicide, it appears the DOD has a checklist to determine whether the attempt is a "scheduled loss ... due to a traumatic injury." The irony.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: "U.S. military spending, fueled by war in Iraq and Afghanistan, reached $529 billion last year, or nearly half of all the world's total defense spending...to a great extent due to the costly military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq."

The report goes on to say: "While total U.S. defense spending dwarfs the rest of the world, it remains a relatively small part -- roughly 4 percent -- of the total U.S. economy."

So, if one goes by that report, would it be the case that governmental budget appropriation, to serve education and health care etc, stem from a weaker lobby for these?

Wow, really Lola? Only 4% of the US economy? That's amazing. You would think then they would have enough for health care.

Have a good day Lola. Is the sun shining in England too?
I'm just doing a quick email check, and then off we go a hiking with Anaiya. hoho

I think that says 4% of total U.S. economy, not government spending. The defense budget is a huge chunk of our government budget. Depending on who you listen to ("lies, d... lies and statistics") the defense budget is 21 to 51% of the budget. (http://www.warresisters.org/piechart.htm).

The saber-rattling over Iran concerns me. We do not need more war. A former Navy guy down the street from me has a bumper sticker that says, "I'm already against the NEXT war."

Amen.