Iraq

I'm struggling to wrap my head around the hypocrisy exhibited in this gambit by Kit Bond and his GOP colleagues:

Senate Republicans said Thursday that they would try to filibuster a massive Pentagon bill that funds the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an unusual move that several acknowledged was an effort to delay President Obama's health-care legislation....

Republican Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Richard C. Shelby (Ala.) and Christopher "Kit" Bond (Mo.) admitted they support the spending bill but acknowledged they were considering opposing it because of the health-care debate...

Bond was one of four Republicans to skip the cloture vote on the bill very early this morning.  Sen. McCaskill voted to stop the GOP filibuster, which was ended with a 63-33 vote at 1:01 a.m.

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but shouldn't our commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan make a Congressman's list of "chief international concerns"?  There are, like, American troops in both countries fighting wars, you know.

Speaking with the Hannibal-Courier Post last week, Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer listed Iran, North Korea and Pakistan (in that order) as his top foreign policy concerns. The relevant comments start at 2:25 in this clip from the Courier-Post:

My brain is having a hard time processing the competing press releases from Sen. Kit Bond and Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer regarding this week's war spending bill. 

As you may already know, Congressional Republicans chose to vote en masse against the bill because of a small provision concerning IMF funding. The decision to oppose the crucial spending bill was especially hypocritical for George W. Bush's top Congressional leaders (e.g. Roy Blunt) who decried any opposition to Bush's supplemental bills with language like, "the equivalent of waving a white flag to al Qaeda."

But Republicans in the Senate didn't have much of a problem with the legislation -- only three voted to oppose the bill. In fact, Kit Bond's press release about the bill is headlined, "BOND: VICTORY!" (yes, all caps) and praised the inclusion $2.2 billion for C-17s he says will save 1,800 jobs in Missouri. 

The invasion of the Iraq was launched six years ago today.

All told, 4,225 U.S. service members have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Eighty-two Missourians have died while serving in Iraq.

Update: TalkingPointsMemo.com has posted a photo timeline of the war.