The Washington Post is reporting that lawmakers are asking the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office for an estimate of the cost of war in Iraq. The Bush administration had floated numbers between $40 billion and $200 billion, but in his testimony to the Armed Services Committee last week, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld refused to commit to any specific numbers. Lawmakers are getting frustrated with the lack of specific estimates, and WaPo cites unnamed Congressional staff and military experts as being skeptical of any estimates when there are so few specifics to work with. Reconstruction of Iraq, on the other hand, has been estimated at $16 billion a year, and could be completely funded with the sale of seized Iraqi oil.
Congressional Debate Begins on War Resolution
CNN characterized the Democratic response to the President's draft resolution a little more forcefully today: "immediate criticism from Senate Democratic leaders even as they continued to back Bush's contention that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a threat to the United States." CNN also mentions Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Michigan) as saying that both Democrats and Republicans want changes to the language. Levin is specifically worried about unilateralism, saying "I want him to look down the barrel of a gun with the world behind it, so that it's not just the United States versus Saddam, it's the world versus Saddam." Levin is also concerned with the vague language of the resolution, "There needs to be some changes ... it's not even limited to Iraq." Senator Joe Biden (D-Delaware), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, likewise cited the use of the word "region" in the resolution, which he considered too broad a mandate. Based on the Republican responses, this language will likely change.
Scott Ritter Credible?
Scott Ritter, former UNSCOM weapons inspector and one of the most visible opponents of war in Iraq, may be in the employ of Saddam Hussein, claims Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard. It seems that Ritter was paid US$400,000 by a pro-Iraqi businessman to produce "In Shifting Sands," a documentary on the "Truth About UNSCOM and the Disarming of Iraq".
US Stalls Bio-Weapons Convention
In a strangely timed announcement, amidst the accusations of biological weapons programs in Iraq, the Bush Administration told its allies that it would delay work on a Biological Weapons Convention until 2006, reports the Washington Post.
Iraq Hates ‘New, Bad’ Resolutions
CNN is reporting Iraq wants no more resolutions, and says that it will not cooperate with anything not already on the books. They have already said they would allow unconditional inspections under existing postwar resolutions.
German Justice Minister: Bush = Hitler
The AP has an excellent overview of the latest mess in the German elections: the German Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin has been cited comparing Bush to Hitler, for attacking Iraq to distract from domestic problems. "That's a popular method. Even Hitler did that," quotes Schwaebisches Tagblatt, a German newspaper.
Democratic Doves See Shadows of Vietnam
New York Times has an interesting piece about the dovish wing of the Democratic caucus -- two dozen strong. They all agree that Gephardt isn't strong-arming them, even encouraging them to "vote their conscience." They all seem to have Vietnam on their minds. Rep. Mary Kaptor (D-Ohio) declared "Naked aggression is not the American way," and encouraged America to "wake up."
Bush Receives War Plans
The Defense Department has handed Bush the most detailed plans for attacking Iraq yet. For obvious reasons, everyone is light on details, but the New York Times asserts that the plans involve an extensive air campaign to eliminate the Iraqi command and control centers, as well as their means of delivering weapons of mass destruction, followed by a troop invasion from Kuwait.
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