Senate opposes Iraq military bases

Amendment mirrors House-approved measure to prevent permanent U.S. troop presence
FROM STAFF REPORTS

The U.S. Senate accepted an amendment Wednesday mirroring Rep. Barbara Lees House measure to prevent creation of permanent military bases in Iraq.

The Senate amendment to the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill to bankroll the war, introduced by U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., puts the chamber on record against permanent U.S. military bases or control of oil in Iraq. The House unanimously approved a similar amendment by Lee, D-Oakland, on a March 16 voice vote.

Despite all of the division and the partisanship about when to leave Iraq and under what circumstances, I think there is one thing that everyone ought to be able to agree on, namely that we should not be in Iraq permanently, Lee said in a statement issued Wednesday. As long as we keep the door to a permanent military presence open, we will continue to fuel the insurgency, undermine the security situation and keep the targets on our troops backs.

Lee in 2005 introduced H.Con.Res. 197 to make it the policy of the United States not to enter into any base agreement with the government of Iraq that would lead to a permanent United States military presence in Iraq. That bill now has bipartisan support from 81 cosponsors.

A recent University of Maryland poll found 80 percent of Iraqis — and 92 percent of Iraqs Sunni Arabs — believe the United States plans a permanent military presence in their country.