Obstruction

A fine mess continues. The filibuster of the Reed-Levin amendment succeeds, as Harry Reid could only get 52 votes on cloture. So Reid pulled the whole defense appropriation bill.

In an in-your-face response to Republicans continuing to block a full Senate vote on withdrawing American troops from Iraq, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) just moments ago set aside the pending Defense Authorization Bill until the Senate's Republican leadership stops defying the will of the majority of Congress and the American people and allows votes on the Iraq occupation.

"This has been a long week and it is only Wednesday," said Reid on the Senate floor. "We have now been in session continuously for 2 days. On Monday I submitted a simple request for consent to proceed to an up or down vote on the Levin/Reed Amendment to the Defense Authorization bill. As I have stated, this amendment provides a clear, binding and responsible path to change the U.S. mission and reduce our combat presence in Iraq."

"Regrettably, Republicans chose to block this amendment. They chose to deny the American people an up or down vote on a bipartisan amendment. They chose to continue protecting their President instead of our troops – no matter the cost to our country."http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/

The reality is that the whole Iraq mess is punted down field, and our current senate wasn't going to get us out of Iraq regardless of the rhetoric. If the filibuster had been broken and the bill passed, shrub would have vetoed it. And there just aren't enough votes to override.
We need to shout "It's the republicans who are keeping us in Iraq" and "Republican obstructionism" at the top of our lungs.
So we remain stuck in the Iraq quagmire. The problem is that there are NO good outcomes for us in Iraq. When we leave, there will be a bloody struggle for power. While we stay, there will be a bloody struggle for power. We will have to leave at some point because the drain on our military and resources will simply become too great. The only question is how much blood will have to spill before we leave.