Kucinich Forces Debate On End To Afghan War

UPDATE 3: The House of Representatives held the first up or down vote on the war in Afghanistan since the war began 8 1/2 years ago. The resolution, offered by Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Oh), failed overwhelmingly after three hours of debate. The measure called for the immediate withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by no later than the end of 2010.

UPDATE 2: I am back to give you a play by play on the Afghanistan war debate. I had to step away for a while to file for FSRN. Here we go:

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio): “My resolution calls for the withdrawal of all US armed forces by no later than the end of this year. It can be done.” He continued: “Should the US continue to bear the burden of this war when we have so many troubles at home. We have to reset our priorities.”

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.): “Let us show our appreciation [to the troops] by voting no on this damaging resolution.”

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif): “I encourage my colleagues to stand firm and institute our Constitutional prerogative.”

Rep. Thomas Rooney (R-Fla.) “A withdrawal now undermines what our troops have done.”

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.): “These same folks wanted us to leave before we stabilized Iraq. They wrong in Iraq.”

Del. Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa): “Why not debate the issue. I do not believe invoking the 1973 War Powers Act is justified at this time.”
(America Somoa does not get to vote in the full House of Representatives, just in committee. Other non-voting representatives include Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C. Washington residents are the only ones with no vote to pay federal income taxes.)

Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.): “It is my hope and prayer that we never have to end another war.”

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.): “I believe this is not the time to change [the Afghanistan] policy. We see progress.”

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa): “I read this resolution and it reads as a retreat resolution.”

Rep. John Boccieri (D-Ohio): “I believe we do need to bring our trips home safely, but not yet. I am concerned about walking away from Afghanistan too prematurely.”
(Boccieri was deployed twice to Afghanistan.)

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.): “Afghanistan shouldn’t be our top national security priority. This kind of terrorism flourishes in 70 countries, yet we’re so heavily invested in Afghanistan.”

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.): “I hope the committee has some hearings on this. It’s important to have this national debate.”

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.): “My colleague from Ohio [Dennis Kucinich] will be defeated more than he was during his Presidential campaign. Given the growing ethical cloud in this house,… given the trillion dollar health care bill, why would the Speaker” schedule this debate at this time?
(Rep. Kirk is running for Obama’s former Senate seat in Illinois.)

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.): “I think this resolution is wrong on the law and it’s wrong on fact, but it’s also not supportive of our troops.”

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.): “Passage of this resolution… would be an immature withdraw. I oppose this resolution because it is ill-timed and ill-conceived. Now is not the time for Congress to start a Constitutional turf war.”

UPDATE: Debate has begun on ending the war in Afghanistan. Excerpts of the debate below:

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.): “Each additional troop that we send over costs $1 million.” And then: “We need to make sure Congress has a voice and is pushing back. While I am not going to support the particular resolution…the time to debate is long overdue.”

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio): “We are either in or out. Unless congress acts… we will stay in Afghanistan for a very long time. Or we can set a date, by Dec 31, 2010, by which we must leave.” Kucinich continued: “Congress must claim responsibility.”

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas): “I cannot support the resolution as I do not support the current strategy in Afghanistan…. The better exit strategy is to have fewer troops that need to exit.”

Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine): “It is…unusual that members get a clear up and down vote on the war in Afghanistan.”

Rep. Lincold Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.): “In the case of Afghanistan, President Obama has demonstrated great responsibility and a sense of the national security interests of the United States.”

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.): “I hope this is the first, not the last” debate on Afghanistan.

PRIOR POST: Liberal lawmaker, Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), will open debate on the Afghanistan war in the House of Representatives, Wednesday. Three hours of debate on his two page resolution, H.Con. Res 248, will take place in the afternoon. The measure calls for the immediate withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan with in 60 days. Should the President deem a withdrawal too dangerous, the resolution allows until the end of the year.

This is the first time the House will debate President Obama’s expanded war in Afghanistan. The President increased the number of troops from 32,000 to an expected 100,000 troops by summer. According to the National Priorities Project, the US is likely to spen $150 billion in 2009 and 2010 for the war.

Rep. Kucinich’s resolution invokes the War Powers Act of 1973, which allows the Congress to limit the president’s powers to declare war. Because of the nature of the resolution, it limits the ability of House leadership to block the measure from receiving a vote before the full House.

The House is expected to overwhelmingly reject Rep. Kucinich’s proposal, but he has the support of 16 progressives and two Republicans who co-sponsored the bill. They include Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI); Ron Paul (R-TX); José Serrano (D-NY); Bob Filner (D-CA); Lynn Woolsey (D-CA); Walter Jones, Jr. (R-NC); Danny Davis (D-IL); Barbara Lee (D-CA); Michael Capuano (D-MA); Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ); Tammy Baldwin (D-WI); Timothy Johnson (R-IL); Yvette Clarke (D-NY); Eric Massa (D-NY); Alan Grayson (D-FL); and Chellie Pingree (D-ME).

Eric Massa has since resigned; Rep. Kucinich lost the support of one.

Editor’s Note: Please follow Leigh Ann Caldwell on Twitter, and The News Junkie Post for all of our updates.

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