The Senate Armed Services Committee has a split personality, on the one hand they approve a resolution to voice their opposition to Bush's plan in Iraq but then they approve the nomination of the author and the implementor of that plan.
A Senate committee on Wednesday approved the nomination of Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus to command American forces in Iraq, replacing Gen. George Casey.If you really don't support the plan, then reject the guy who is going to implement it. But they don't have the guts to do that. Wimps!
The Senate Armed Services Committee sent the nomination to the full Senate, which is expected to approve the nomination on Thursday, including promoting Petraeus to four-star rank for the top military post in Iraq.
[...]
The committee approved the nomination without opposition at an impromptu meeting in the Capitol, said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a member of the panel.
BTW, I love Cheney's response to the "nonbinding resolution" (or in other words, the cut and run symbolism over substance resolution):
"The president has made his decision," Vice President
Dick Cheney fired back, a response that made it clear the administration would go ahead anyway. "We need to get the job done."
[...]
"We are moving forward," Cheney said in an interview with CNN in which he was asked about the troop buildup. "The Congress has control over the purse strings. They have the right, obviously, if they want, to cut off funding. But in terms of this effort, the president has made his decision."
Here's a video of Petraeus' opening statement laying out what he thinks the situation will be like in Iraq:
Here's a video of Lieberman making a statement about the resolutions during Petraeus' hearing:
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