Congressman Cohen Speaks On President Bush's Veto Threat

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Mr. Speaker, last week the Democratic House delivered on its promise to move the Iraq war in a new direction. We approved a very serious piece of legislation that includes the recommendations of the President, the nonpartisan Iraq Study Group and the Pentagon. The President responded to our action by describing it as political theater and threatening a Presidential veto.

How can this be political theater if we are putting some real teeth into the benchmarks that the President himself established for the Iraqi government earlier this year? Let's not forget the President's own words: "I've made it clear to the Prime Minister and Iraq's other leaders that America's commitment is not open-ended. If the Iraqi government does not follow through on its promises, it will lose the support of the American people,'' said President Bush. Those were his words.

This legislation passed last week puts in law the President's demands that the Iraqis meet his benchmarks. You would think the President would support such action. Instead, he calls it political theater. So much for holding the Iraqi government accountable. The President should reconsider his veto threat. It could be the theater of the absurd.