US lawmakers warn against long-term Iraq deals

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - Congress may try to force the White House to seek approval for plans to sign a strategic agreement on ties with Iraq, senators said on Thursday, as one Republican warned officials "you won't get this done" without congressional consent.

The Bush administration has repeatedly said it will keep Congress informed but not ask for its approval on either a strategic framework agreement defining long-term ties with Iraq or a separate "status of forces" agreement outlining rules and protections governing U.S. military activity in Iraq.

But Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden labeled as "folly" the outgoing White House's plans to forge a deal that Iraq might view as a long-term commitment of U.S. troops.

"If the president persists on this course, the Congress will insist on a role in approving or disapproving these agreements," Biden, a Delaware Democrat, told the State Department's coordinator on Iraq, David Satterfield, at a congressional hearing.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N10360701.htm

I see it now

Congress MUST be consulted for approval. bush will lose any challenge to the Constitution on this.