President Bush Visits Cleveland But Keeps Making War

Ohio Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich's congressional website http://kucinich.house.gov/ posted the following press release.

President Bush Visits Cleveland But Keeps Making War
Kucinich Says Domestic Agenda Consumed by Iraq War

Washington, Jul 10 - As President Bush visits the Congressional District of Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today, the Ohio Congressman called on the President to start paying attention to the needs of America’s cities, listen to a majority of the American people and end the war in Iraq.

"The President’s visit to the Cleveland area was allegedly to focus on a non-existent domestic agenda. But even when he comes to one of America’s most economically distressed areas, all he has to offer is more war. Like many American cities, Cleveland and its inner ring suburbs, like Parma, have been ignored while the President prosecutes this illegal war. The entire domestic agenda but been pushed aside because of the war. This President is intent on staying in Iraq, through the end of his term, so he can use America’s military to privatize Iraq’s oil,” Kucinich said.

Earlier this year, Congress gave the President $97 billion in additional funding to keep the war going through October 1, 2007. This week, the U.S. Senate is expected to take up its version of the 2008 defense authorization bill, which would authorize more than $600 billion in defense spending -- with an additional $127 billion authorized for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“This Democratic Congress, which was elected to end the war, must take a stand. It must tell the President that it will provide no more funds. The only way to end this war is to refuse to provide more funding. Threatening the Iraqis that we will pull out unless they privatize their oil is a plan for unending war. We must tell the President NOW there will be no more funds. He must go to the international community and put together an international peacekeeping and security mission to stabilize Iraq as the U.S. troops leave. These are the elements of a plan which I have been offering for the past four years,” Kucinich said.

“The Senate, unfortunately, is in the middle of another one of its famous fake debates on the war. We do not have to have a vote on whether or not there is to be more funding. The money is in the pipeline right now to end the war and bring our troops home. We can simply refuse to provide a bill which appropriates more money for the Iraq war. This President must be held accountable. This Congress must also be held accountable. The American people are waiting for us to provide real leadership to show the way out of Iraq. And our troops are waiting to see if we care more about their precious lives than about party politics,” Kucinich concluded.