Congressional Glance
TESTIMONY BEFORE THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE ON IRAQ
By William E. Odom, LT General, USA, Ret.
2 April 2008
Good morning Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. It is an honor to appear before you again. The last occasion was in January 2007, when the topic was the troop surge. Today you are asking if it has worked. Last year I rejected the claim that it was a new strategy. Rather, I said, it is a new tactic used to achieve the same old strategic aim, political stability. And I foresaw no serious prospects for success.
I see no reason to change my judgment now. The surge is prolonging instability, not creating the conditions for unity as the president claims.
Last year, General Petraeus wisely declined to promise a military solution to this political problem, saying that he could lower the level of violence, allowing a limited time for the Iraqi leaders to strike a political deal. Violence has been temporarily reduced but today there is credible evidence that the political situation is far more fragmented. And currently we see violence surge in Baghdad and Basra. In fact, it has also remained sporadic and significant in
several other parts of Iraq over the past year, notwithstanding the notable drop in Baghdad and Anbar Province.
More disturbing, Prime Minister Maliki has initiated military action and then dragged in US forces to help his own troops destroy his Shiite competitors. This is a political setback, not a political
solution. Such is the result of the surge tactic.
General William Odom Tells Senate Rapid Withdrawal Is Only Solution
McCain's voting record - how he REALLY supports the troops
John McCain is yet another republican former military veteran who likes to talk a big game when it comes to having the support of the military. Yet, time and time again, he has gone out of his way to vote against the needs of those who are serving in our military.
How They Voted: Torture Bill
The 225-188 roll call Tuesday by which the House failed to override President Bush's veto of a bill that would have prohibited the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques on terrorist suspects.
Voting yes were 220 Democrats and 5 Republicans.
Voting no were 3 Democrats and 185 Republicans.
House rejects claim that vote machines failed in Florida race
With little discussion, the House late Monday dismissed Democrat Christine Jennings' claim that malfunctioning touch-screen voting machines in Florida cost her election to Congress in November 2006.
More than 18,000 eletronic ballots in Sarasota County failed to record a vote in Jennings' race against Republican Vern Buchanan, who won by fewer than 400 votes to replace former Rep. Katherine Harris, a Republican.
OPEN LETTER to the U.S. Congress from the survivors of the USS LIBERTY
I have been writing letters to our elected officials for the past 20 years, trying to get a congressional investigation into the deliberate attack on the USS LIBERTY on June 8, 1967 by the government of Israel. This atrocity and cold-blooded murder of America’s sons on the high seas was an act of war against the United States of America, not to mention the numerous war crimes committed against the crew of the USS LIBERTY.
Congressional Foreign Affairs Boss, Cites Israel as a Prime Motivator in His Politics
Two nights ago, on February 20, Congressman Howard Berman, the soon-to-be-chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, visited the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association in his Los Angeles district. During the Q-and-A, a couple of audience members submitted written questions about the Israel relationship. The moderator lumped the questions and asked Berman how he would rate the presidential candidates on Israel.
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