HR 3699, prohibiting taxpayer funds for more combat troops to Afghanistan & HR 2404 calling for an exit strategy

Democrats who do not want to make the same mistake that was made with Iraq, they made my day. I just got this newsletter from Tom Hayden.

OAKLAND Nov. 24. While thousands of peace activists flooded the White House with calls, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced her legislation, HR 3699, prohibiting taxpayer funds for more combat troops to Afghanistan. Coupled with Rep. Jim McGovern's HR 2404 calling for an exit strategy, the measures provide space for the peace movement to organize in local communities across the country during the next six months.

Lee was joined in Oakland by Tom Hayden, Danny Glover, Paul Cox, a Vietnam veteran for peace, and Sharon Cornu, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Alameda Labor Council.

The measure will be sent to the House Appropriations Committee, whose chairman, David Obey [D-Wisc.] famously gave President Obama a one-year window in Afghanistan before promising aggressive Congressional action. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently echoed Obey's call, saying that little support exists for funding an escalation in Afghanistan.

Lee chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, so her stance becomes important in the struggle over the priorities of the Obama administration. As in the past, the White House and Pentagon are expected to pressure Democrats against a funding cut-off, while quite possibly offering a promise to limit the duration of the war through an exit strategy. If the White House succeeds, Lee's tougher bill would be defeated while McGovern's aspirational resolution will pass with a majority.

If a significant number of Democrats vote for Lee's measure, President Obama will be forced to rely on his Republican opponents who may help fund the(war)while seeking to defeat Democrats in 2010 and 2012.

Tom Hayden
The Peace and Justice Resource Center
http://tomhayden.com/