Coming down the pike (from Roll Call) …
The House will gear up this week for what could be one of its most significant debates in several years, as the chamber spends much of Thursday considering a Republican-crafted resolution on Iraq.
While the debate will be designed to allow all sides to air their views of the war on the House floor, the resolution itself â which portrays the Iraq conflict as a front in the larger war on terrorism â is likely to inspire controversy, since its language largely reflects the views of House Republicans rather than Democrats.
The Rules Committee is scheduled to meet today to set the parameters of Thursdayâs debate. Because the legislative vehicle is a resolution rather than a bill, it would not be amendable by Democrats, though they will have an opportunity to offer a motion to recommit.
According to a draft version that was obtained Friday and is still subject to change, the resolution will begin by âdeclaring that the United States will prevail in the Global War on Terror, the struggle to protect freedom from the terrorist adversary.â
The resolution goes on to emphasize the importance of fighting terrorism and says that Saddam Hussein âconstituted a threat against global peace and security.â The language also refers to Iraq and Afghanistan as two parts of the same fight.
The creed.
