Make no mistake about the situation right now with getting material and replacement forces to Iraq – the Democrats have produced NOTHING. They are all on long vacations, but the current status is two bills, one from each house, with money for the war, pork for the bribed votes and conflicting terms for a surrender next year. The Democrats went on vacation without sending up any Bill at all, and their return will be too late to stop damaging the support lines to our brave men and women in harms way (where Congress authorized them to be):

“They see the emergency war spending bill as a chance to make that statement,” Bush said. “Yet for our men and women in uniform, this emergency war spending bill is not a political statement, it is a source of critical funding that has a direct impact on their daily lives.”

Bush has asked Congress for more than $100 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year. The House and Senate have approved the money, but their bills aim to wind down the war by including timelines for troops to come home _ something Bush won’t accept.

The Senate bill would require a U.S. troop exit in Iraq to begin within 120 days, with a completion goal of March 31, 2008. The House bill orders all combat troops out by Sept. 1, 2008.

Democratic leaders have yet to negotiate a final version to send the president, and Bush has already made clear he will veto it anyway, which will start the process all over.

So let’s analyze the COMPLETE message sent by the Democrats in Cogress.

(1) They are opposed to the war, but will let it wage for another year or more before they propose surrendering Iraq to al Qaeda – which means they are willing to sacrifice more American lives, but they will all be wasted since surrender is inevitable.

(2) They are not concerned with the immediate impact on our troops since they could not muster the energy to finalize a Bill for the President before taking time off for vacation (something I am sure our troops would love to do with their families this week).

(3) Their lack of concern about American lives in uniform is not just near term or long term indifference, they apparently plan to use Americans in uniform as pawns. It would seem that their hope is to “bleed” the country into conforming to their wishes. Is it not ironic that the funding is running out right now? The Democrats knew this because this is the historic period for these war-focused funding Bills to come out (which are tied to the beginning of operations in Iraq). Instead of burying the war costs in the massive federal budget Bills, Bush has been above board and transparent so Americans can see the cost of these efforts.

So the Democrats knew coming in they would face this tough, early vote – don’t kid yourselves. Things like this in DC are actually planned out months in advance with PR machines geared up and media plans in place – the whole 9 yards. So clearly the Dems knew time would be short on this when they set up their Spring schedules. And therefore they knew time would run out on current funds while they were on vacation.

So it is no accident what Bush is pointing out regarding the timing of things here:

The Senate has been on a weeklong break; the House is out for two weeks.

“That means the soonest the House and Senate could get a bill to my desk will be sometime late this month, after the adverse consequences for our troops and their families have already begun,” Bush said. “For our troops, the clock is ticking.”

The Dems knew this months ago – when they won the elections. And they knew Bush’s position. They have made their statements – but they have said a lot more than just their opposition to the war (duh, who did not know that). They have now said they will use our troops as political pawns, they will starve them of resources, they will let them die and becomed maimed in droves before demanding a final surrender.

And let’s be absolutely clear here on how things would play out best for the Dems. The more US soldiers killed, the more pressure on Bush. The more US soldiers who succeed and the more of Iraq that stabilizes, the worse their hand becomes. So what do you think terrorists would do to strengthen the Democrats’ hand in this showdown and delay of funds?