Harry Reid: New Democratic Leader in Senate Unlikely to Oppose Bush

Introducing a new commentary from FPIF's The Project Against the Present Danger

Reading Harry Reid: New Democratic Leader in Senate Unlikely to Oppose Bush Administration's Foreign Policy Agenda
By Stephen Zunes

The overwhelming selection of Nevada Senator Harry Reid as minority leader of Congress' upper house shows that the Democrats are still willing to give their backing for the Bush administration's reckless militarism and contravention of international legal norms.

Despite evidence that Iraq no longer had weapons of mass destruction, WMD programs or offensive delivery systems, Reid voted in October 2002 to authorize a U.S. invasion of Iraq because of what he claimed was "the threat posed by Saddam Hussein." The Reid-backed resolution falsely accused Iraq of "continuing to possess and develop a significant chemical and biological weapons capability . . . actively seeking a nuclear weapons capability, thereby continuing to threaten the national security interests of the United States."

When Democratic Senator Joseph Biden, the ranking Democrat on the
International Relations committee, tried to alter the wording of the
resolution so as not to give President Bush the blank check he was seeking and to put some limitations on his war-making authority, Reid as assistant minority leader of the Senate helped circumvent Biden's efforts by signing on to the White House's version. As the Democratic "whip," Reid then persuaded a majority of Democratic Senators to vote down a resolution offered by Democratic Senator Carl Levin that would authorize force only if the UN Security Council voted to give the U.S. that authority and to instead support the White House resolution giving Bush the right to invade even without such legal authorization. (By contrast, a sizable majority of
Democrats in the House of Representatives voted against the Republican resolution.)

Stephen Zunes is a professor of Politics and chair of the Peace & Justice Studies Program at the University of San Francisco. He is Middle East editor for the Foreign Policy in Focus Project http://www.fpif.org and the author of Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism (Common Courage Press, 2003) available online at: http://www.irc-online.org/content/books/zunes.tinderbox...

See new Present Danger commentary online at:
http://www.presentdanger.org/commentary/2004/0411reid.h...


Bush Administration Disasters Depicted as Triumphs
By Stephen Zunes (October 2004)
http://www.fpif.org/papers/0410gopiraq.html

The U.S. Invasion of Iraq: The Military Side of Globalization?
By Stephen Zunes (October 2004)
http://www.fpif.org/papers/0410milglob.html

Presidential Election Offers Little Choice for Israeli-Arab Peace
By Stephen Zunes (October 2004)
http://www.fpif.org/papers/0410uselect.html

House Republicans and Democrats Unite in Linking Iraq with 9/11
By Stephen Zunes (October 11, 2004)
http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2004/0410republicrats.ht...

The Influence of the Christian Right on U.S. Middle East Policy
By Stephen Zunes (June 2004)
http://www.fpif.org/papers/0406christian.html

*'s got to dodge war crime indictments every time he travels, and this loser is going to rubberstamp his bullshit. Great. :grr:

just what we need, a weak leader. Isn't there a democrat in the senate who will stand up to the idiot in chief?? What the fuck is wrong with our side? geez...just give chimpy another free ride how about it!

We live in a Country gone mad and out Party has seemingly jumped on the bandwagon of craziness.

I am thinking the only way to fix this is to start running other stronger Democrats against them in the Primaries when they are up for re-election to their senate and house seats!!! Get them all out and start over I am really sick of this shit.

I am speechless. Our new senate "leader" per this article, was instrumental in getting IWR passed just the way the WH wanted it. This "leader" is nothing more than an imposter, a DINO, a fraud, a man that is morally bankrupt. If Reid posted his views on such issues as abortion and the IWR on DU, he'd probably be banned as a fucking troll. Fuck this.

He's the guy they stick in front of a runaway train while the power brokers sit back and formulate a super-secret plan for getting everything right during the next election cycle.

The Democrats are a mess.

I know they're a few notches more gullible. (Golden plates? Magic glasses?)

Can't believe they picked this DINO to be minority leader...

What the Hell is he doing living in a sinful state like Nevada? Did Elohim tell the Prophets in SLC that gambling and prostitution are OK now (as long as you don't drink coffee)?

is brain dead. Someone needs to pull the plug.

Either that, or they know exactly what they are doing, which really makes them no better than the repugs they so love to enable. This shit is making me sick! :puke:

is happy now.

I cheered when he lost, but that was back when I still held out hope that the Democrats would replace him effectively.

I should have known.

Daschle was much more of an obstructionist than people give him credit for being. It looks like Reid isn't going to even bother.

Or are you just shooting off your mouth?

instead of making childish remarks.

This is an opinion piece, not a news article. That so many appear to think otherwise is a reflection on group ignorance.

The fact this scumbag refused to allow the IWR amendments, I think we know what's in store for us. Look for token objections on only the most egregious of issues then closed door backroom sessions that let the repugs have whatever they desire.

WTF were the Democrats thinking when they chose him? If there's any time the part needs a strong leader, it is NOW.

At least to the principles of the Democratic party I'd like to be a part of. The party has become irrelevant as opoposition to the Republicans. It's time to move on.

I should have known they would pick an actual Republican instead of Republican Lite (Daschle) this time.

...for the Bush* administration.

The Democrats need a funny but experienced leader now.

He doesn't even have the sense to get his name removed from the PNAC website, where it lends credibility to a letter that PNAC (apparently, though this is unproven) stole and placed on the site as their own (with no disclaimer that the letter is not a PNAC creation). He knows his name is there, he should demand it be removed if he doesn't share PNAC's ideals.