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TechnoratiObama Signs $106 Billion bill for Iraq, Afghan Wars
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed into law a $106 billion measure to fulfill his plans to wind down the war in Iraq and ramp up operations in Afghanistan where fighting against militants is intensifying.
![[U.S. President Barack Obama signs the Supplemental Appropriations Act in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington June 24, 2009. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/obama_signs_0.png "obama_signs.png")
The bill contains $79.9 billion to continue funding the two wars
through September 30. It was also loaded up with extras like $7.7
billion to address the H1N1 flu pandemic, and $1.4 billion in foreign aid for Pakistan, which is fighting Taliban militants spilling over the border from Afghanistan.
The measure was nearly derailed by Obama's request for money to close the controversial U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as well as for $108 billion in credit lines to back the International Monetary Fund as it helps countries weather the global economic downturn.
The legislation did not include $80 million Obama wanted for closing Guantanamo and bans releasing any detainees into the United States through September 30. But it allows detainees to be brought to U.S. soil for trial.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers demanded the White House produce a detailed plan before closing the Guantanamo prison camp. Before the legislation passed, the administration rushed to release or transfer more than a dozen detainees.
Despite fierce Republican opposition, Obama ultimately prevailed to include in the legislation provisions to extend a $100 billion credit line to the IMF and expand the U.S. contribution to the multilateral lender by $8 billion.
The legislation also endorses the IMF's plan to sell 400 tons (12.97 million ounces) of its gold reserves.
House Republicans had expressed concern the IMF would use the funds to lend to U.S. foes like Iran and Venezuela and argued that the matter should have been considered separately.
With the bill becoming law, Obama can follow through on a commitment he made with other Group of 20 member nations to add $500 billion to an IMF emergency fund for countries needing financial aid to avoid bankruptcy.
The legislation also will kick off a controversial $1 billion program to boost depressed U.S. car sales. The measure offers vouchers of up to $4,500 to consumers who trade in their less fuel-efficient vehicles for ones that get better mileage.
(Editing by Chris Wilson)
20 Comments so far
Show AllThis is what is called "malice aforethought" in a murder trial.
"The measure offers vouchers of up to $4,500 to consumers who trade in their less fuel-efficient vehicles for ones that get better mileage."
Social Security for all profiteers, war profiteers, auto profiteers, oil profiteers. Destroy the lives of brown-skinned foreigners. Feed the USan consumption addition. Entice them to trade cars using a token improvement in gas mileage to divide the opposition. Don't bother to re-implement the gas-guzzler tax that was dropped over ten years ago, after which the Antarctica ice shelves started breaking apart. 130 million voted in 2008 for continuation of business as usual! Good job!
The Great Messiah, Ambassador for Peace, who delivered a now famous anti-war speech back in 2002 when it didn't count but which helped convince well-intentioned, naive saps to vote for him, signs $106,000,000,000.00 KILL BILL.
Americans who love their country vote for Ralph or Cynthia. We all knew Obama was full of shit.
But every 4 years they roll out the circus and Americans get to vote for their favorite clown. Americans never catch on.
Maybe he got a cramp in his hand when he signed it.
Looks like Obama's campaign warning of "don't let them run the old 'oki-doke' on you" was right on target.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh69Zi2rV-U
"he doth protest too much"
This video certainly seems to support psychologists suggestions that one who focuses excessively on a negative point in others may often be projecting their own faults.
The only thing is that now that he's president, he's the one running that old 'oki-doke' of MORE WAR on all of us.
Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine
PS. Of course, phony neo-liberal apologist cheerleaders like David Axledick, "The Nation", Move-On, and the rest of the phony neo-liberal Obama crowd will bring back their admonition that, "even FDR wanted the people to push him to do the right thing", and to point out that in the above picture you can see that, "Obama isn't smiling about signing this war funding --- and he needs OUR HELP AND SUPPORT to resist expansion of the wars".
What horse-poop!
Sure, throw some more treasury moneys out the window!
It's utterly revolting.
Money for killing folks in other countries somehow is always and immediately, without deliberation and hand-wringing, available aplenty, but health care for all, that takes months of hesitation, deliberation, hand-wringing, debate, haggling, committees, endless newspaper articles, television and radio discussions, and compromises, to be even considered, only to be denied in the end.
Is there a connection between the denial of universal healthcare, the stalling its proposal elicits and the amounts of money poured at the drop of hat into the Pentagon and war making? You bet there is: it is the latter that makes the former impossible.
Why is it that military expenditures and war making always receive preferential treatment? Because the military and its activities are the enforcers of the agenda and of the world order that most benefit the interests of the few (the elites) that run this country.
If the above is correct, then obviously the elites put their interests above the welfare, the health, of the majority of the citizenry.
The sacrifice of the health of the majority is carried out at the majority's expense, for it is the treasury of the people that is drawn upon to stoke the Pentagon's endless appetite for money.
Furthermore, it is the most deprived and least educated citizens that are being compelled by their circumstances (among which the lack of employment opportunities ranks very high) to join the military and carry out its wars and to risk in the process losing their life or being severely injured (mentally or physically, or both) for the rest of their life. (It is true that the military also hires non-citizens, but there is no need to consider that for the point I am making.)
I won't even go into the fact that, at this point in time (given the financial and the fiscal catastrophes that have hit the country), the moneys appropriated for the Pentagon, its empire of military bases, and its war making, are really being borrowed on the future of the people of this country. It is our children that will have to pay for these monstrous acts for decades to oome.
Our culture is so thoroughly and deeply imbedded in the preparation and waging of war that every last corner of our economy is military-related.
Your local large-scale brand-name bakery? Bet they survive on a fat government contract to supply hamburger buns to the Army.
That big sportswear company out in the suburbs? Yup. Big contract to supply the U.S. military.
Cardboard boxes? Same. Government defense contracts keeps 'em going.
Small & new businesses FIGHT to get on the list to supply the military with products and services, simply because it's such a gravy train.
Most of us never consider to what extent these myriad military connections drive our economy. It's what makes it so difficult to cut the funds off.
Building an alternative would take imagination!!
And, well, that's just not what makes most politicians tick.
ANOTHER VICTORY FOR
AIPAC!!
With or without the $369 million for an additional dozen F-22 jet fighters
that the Pentagon doesn't want?
The legislation endorses the IMF's plan to sell 400 tons of its gold reserves.
There goes Fort Knox!
Billions for more war, billions for the IMF, Billions for Pakistan,
but California schoolteachers, and nurses, and service personnel can go to hell.
rebelnow, precisely!
Here's a great WSWS expose on your point that the Californian working-class, and education, and welfare services are being 'thumb-screwed', while hundreds of billion go to war funding and weapons whores, and while Wall Street (and Citi) increase pay 50% on our dime:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jun2009/cali-j25.shtml
Alan
Exactly, an endless supply of easily printed up dollars for Wall Street and war but when it comes to single-payer health care or education, the answer is: sorry we just can't afford that.
The sickest part of all is that when I pointed this out to a fellow teacher, the Democrat idiot proceeded to justify Obama and the war in Afghanistan on the grounds that the Taliban were there. I guess this fool never heard of oil, pipelines, Haliburton or Blackwater.
Not to mention that not a shred of evidence was ever produced linking the Taliban to 9/11.
The Taliban was not the enemy, and in fact had received around $300 million in U.S. aid, prior to refusing to give up bin Laden to the U.S. unless the U.S. would provide evidence that bin Laden had taken part in 911. The U.S. of course, refused to do so. The Taliban even offered to turn him over to a neutral third party. But this wasn't good enough for the U.S. One does NOT tell the U.S. what to do. So, once again, as happens so often, a former ally of the U.S. becomes its enemy when it refuses to toe the line. Those recent new "stan" allies should be very very careful from now on. Better not cross the empire.
Obama Signs $106 Billion KILL for Iraq, Afghan Wars
Yes he can. King Con can keep wall street war profiteers and banks happy. No one else counts. Repeat after me: YES HE CAN!
Can I call Mr. Obama a House Negro, again?
Dear hoytdouglas, would you please? And accept my apologies for once asking you to desist in this. But where I was blind you saw clearly.
Please, call that MF ANYTHING, no insult is unworthy for this liar and traitor.
peace, joe
Billions for offense, but not one cent for infrastructure, unless to prop up more billionaires.