Right Voices

As such, he argues, he is entitled to do whatever he pleases with the military: “The President must make the ultimate decision.”  Okay, that was back in the 90′s, but I bring this up because the   left(Feingold, Kennedy & Specter) is claiming that the Republicans forced Bill Clinton out of Somalia in 93′.   As bit of research led me to this timeless piece written by Noel Sheppard. 

“Our welcome has been worn out,” Rep Murtha told NBC’s “Today” show in Sept. 1993, a month after 4 U.S. Military Police had been killed in Somalia by a remote-detonated land mine.

The Pennsylvania Democrat announced that President Clinton had been “listening to our suggestions. And I think you’ll see him move those troops out very quickly.”

I took Greenwalds suggestion and followed the link:

• Mr. EVERETT. Mr. Speaker, the Clinton administration’s policy regarding Somalia has become a complete failure in my mind. The United States forces operating in Somalia are now in the untenable situation of trying to carry out a botched and unguided mission that encompasses humanitarian, peacekeeping, peacemaking, and nation-building efforts. The command and control arrangement that was originally set up when the United States first handed over the humanitarian mission to the United Nations has since become confused and ineffective–this must be addressed immediately before any more American lives are needlessly lost. Operation Restore Hope has turned into Operation Quagmire.
• The policy initiated by the Bush administration to provide humanitarian assistance to the starving people of Somalia has been successfully fulfilled. Since the Clinton administration has taken over, the nature of the policy shifted to economics and nation-building that is being loosely coordinated with the United Nations. In a recent speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Secretary of Defense Les Aspin went so far as to say `our overall criteria for success should include progress in economic, political, and security elements of the Somali problem.’ This speech is a perfect illustration of why the administration’s foreign policy has gone bad. In this time of severe reductions to our national defense budget, we have no business launching a political and economic exercise half way around the world; especially when the people we are trying to help are shooting at us.
• On May 25, the House voted to approve H.J. Res. 45, a joint resolution authorizing the use of United States Armed Forces in Somalia for up to an additional 12 months; it was adopted on a vote of 243 to 179. I voted against this measure because we had since achieved our objective of making the food supply accessible to all Somalians.
• When we launched Operation Restore Hope last December, we really didn’t have any vital interests in Somalia ; our involvement was primarily humanitarian in nature. We continue to not have interests in Somalia that would warrant the further use of the United States military. The United Nations peacekeeping force must assume the broader role of peace `maker’ until General Aideed’s forces are neutralized.
• Yesterday, my Republican colleagues and I sent a letter to President Clinton requesting that he bring the United States military operation in Somalia to a close, and shift the responsibility of this mission back to the United Nations. Moreover, we stressed the fact that we have successfully completed the humanitarian mission of food distribution in Somalia ; the mission has now changed to nation-building, which is the role of the United Nations. I hope the President takes heed in this letter and listens to the American people; it’s time to bring our troops home from Somalia .

Gee, a Democrat and a Republican both suggested but did not force him into anything…yet it looks like Clinton caved when he had it right the first time:

Bill Clinton emphasizes that he is the commander-in-chief, and, he claims, “The Constitution leaves the President, for good and sufficient reasons, the ultimate decision-making authority.” As such, he argues, he is entitled to do whatever he pleases with the military: “The President must make the ultimate decision.”

Others blogging:

DownWithTyranny!:   IF CONGRESS DOESN’T STOP THIS WAR, IT ISN’T BECAUSE IT DOESN’T :