Category: Fall 2006 Newswire
Iraq War Surpasses Time Span of U.S. Involvement in World War II
Iraq
The Eagle-Tribune
Bryan McGonigle
Boston University Washington News Service
Nov. 28, 2006
WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 – The war in Iraq has lasted longer than U.S. involvement in World War II, leaving analysts to ponder the differences between the two wars.
Last Saturday, the Iraq War reached 1,348 days – the same amount of time between the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and the United States victory in 1945.
“I think there have been incredible miscalculations as to how long this war would last,” Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass., said about the Iraq War. “The war was mishandled from the very beginning and every step along the way.”
How did it take less time to win a massive war on three continents than it has taken to win a war in a country smaller than the northeastern United States? Analysts cite factors on both the battlefield and the home front.
“The fundamental difference is that there were armies to fight in World War II,” said Owen Cote Jr., associate director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Security Studies Program in Cambridge. “It was a traditional war. You basically have a struggle between two armies, and the one that gets defeated gives up.”
The United States is fighting a counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq – rather than a standard military conflict such as World War II – which makes it a tougher conflict to win, Cote said.
John Pike, director of the military analysis Web site globalsecurity.org, agreed.
“When we got into Berlin, it was game over,” Pike said. “But when we got to Baghdad, that was just the beginning of it.”.
Religion plays a role that wasn’t seen in the Second World War as well, Pike said. Now that Iraq is occupied by the United States and has a new government, religious sectarian violence among Sunni and Shiite Muslims has increased.
“After the world war, it was not as though the German Catholics were gunning down the German Lutherans,” Pike said. “Our problem with the Sunni is that they have not yet tasted defeat, and they do not think they’ve been defeated. They think that if the Americans go home, they can get right back in the saddle.”
Meehan said a major difference in the two wars was the cooperation of other nations in World War II versus the virtual unilateral effort of the United States in Iraq. He said he blames the Bush administration for going to war without a large international coalition.
“In World War II, we had significant allies committed to working with us,” Meehan said. “Allies came together. That’s what the big three at Yalta was all about, coming together to defeat the Germans.”
Army mobilization was a large factor in our success in World War II, Cote said. But since the Iraq invasion the U.S. military has not seen a significant increase in numbers, which Cote said is another reason the United States is struggling in this war.
“Most people would agree that if you wanted to add 50,000 to 100,000 to our Army, you wouldn’t need a draft,” Cote said. “You would have to lower standards. The standards we have are very high.”
Earlier this month, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., suggested sending more troops to Iraq. The bipartisan Iraq Study Group, led by former Secretary of State James Baker, discussed that option as well.
But military officials have said deploying more troops to Iraq would strain the U.S. military and wouldn’t offer a long-term solution. Gen. John P. Abizaid, who leads the U.S. Central Command, which includes Iraq, testified on Capitol Hill two weeks ago that sending more U.S. troops would discourage Iraqi troops from taking a lead in security operations there.
During World War II, the home front was united in the war effort. Food and supplies were rationed, Americans collected tin cans for war supplies and invested in war bonds. The government encouraged Americans to plant “victory gardens,” supplying themselves with fruits and vegetables.
“In World War II, we knew that we were at war,” Pike said. “The government did a lot of things to boost morale on the home front. [The Bush administration] is trying to have it both ways. They’re trying to fight a war when the home front’s at peace. They have not done anything to build solidarity on the home front.”
Public support for President Roosevelt remained high during World War II. Since the Iraq invasion, President Bush’s approval rating and public support for the war have both dropped below 50 percent – a major factor that ousted Republicans from Congress in the mid-term elections, according to exit polls.
“It’s pathetic,” Pike said. “[Bush Administration officials] talk about us being at war when it’s convenient for them to talk about it, but they have not mobilized the home front. The fact that the war is very unpopular is a direct result of that.”
Meehan said the window of opportunity for winning the Iraqi people’s hearts and minds has closed, and installing an American-style democracy is unrealistic and would take generations to accomplish. It may be impossible, he added, with the growing Iraqi impatience with the American occupation and the expanding insurgency.
“Ninety percent [of insurgents] are insurgents from within Iraq,” Meehan said. “The insurgency has been growing at a faster rate than we can eliminate the enemy. No unpopular occupying country can ever defeat insurgency in that country.”
Pike said he is not optimistic about American prospects in Iraq, either. Given the drawn-out nature of insurgencies in the last century and given the fact that Iraq doesn’t have a stable military, he said the United States will not see a victory in Iraq for a long time.
“Typically a counterinsurgency campaign takes at least a decade,” Pike said. “I would see us having Americans in Iraq for another 10 years on top of what we’ve been in there, unless it collapses on us in which case we’ll be out a lot sooner.”
Another major difference between World War II and the Iraq War is also seen in the death tolls. In World War II, more than 400,000 U.S. military personnel were killed, according to military reports. Since the Iraq invasion more than three years and eight months ago, almost 3,000 U.S. men and women have been killed in Iraq.
Although the death toll of the Iraq War has been significantly lower than that of World War II, critics of the Iraq War have maintained that the numbers are high enough to warrant a new course of action.
“I think we desperately need a change of direction in Iraq,” Meehan said. “We need a responsible exit strategy that will move Iraqi forces up front and allow us to safely redeploy our troops over six to eight months.”
U.S. Involvement in World War II Timeline
Dec. 7, 1941: Japanese bomb American Naval Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, prompting United States to enter war.
1942: Germany and Japan achieve large victories against U.S. troops; United States and Britain land in North Africa.
1943: Roosevelt and Winston Churchill agree on goal of unconditional surrender; German 6th Army surrenders at Stalingrad; Nazis defeated in Africa; Allied troops land on Italian mainland.
1944: U.S. and British troops enter Rome; Allies launch invasion of Normandy, liberate Paris; Americans invade Philippines; Germans launch Battle of the Bulge.
1945: Yalta Agreement signed, establishing plan for occupation of Germany; Hitler commits suicide; Allies declare victory in Europe; atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Soviet Union declares war on Japan; Japan surrenders.
Sept. 2, 1945: V-J day, Japanese sign surrender terms aboard the battleship Missouri.
Iraq War Timeline
March 20, 2003: United States launches Operation Iraqi Freedom at 5 a.m. Baghdad time.
2003: U.S. forces take control of Baghdad; President Bush declares end to major combat operations; Saddam Hussein is captured.
2004: Attacks on U.S. troops ensue; violence between Sunnis and Shiites increases; Sunni mob kills and mutilates four American civilians in Falluja; U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 1,000.
2005: Iraqis elect a National Assembly, with 260 attacks on election day; Gen. John Abizaid says Iraq insurgency is as strong as it had been six months earlier; Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish leaders demand a specific time for the pullout of foreign troops; U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 2,000;
2006: Abizaid says sectarian violence is strong and Iraqi civil war is possible; Pentagon reports dramatic death increase in Iraq; Hussein sentenced to death by hanging; U.S. mid-term elections reflect national dissatisfaction with the war; Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld resigns; U.S. death toll in Iraq approaches 3,000.
Nov. 25, 2006: Iraq War has lasted as long as U.S. involvement in World War II.
Source: Information Please Almanac, Pearson Education, infoplease.com.
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Remembering a Brother Who Died in World War II
BERUBE
The Standard-Times
Anika Clark
Boston University Washington News Service
11/22/06
This fall, 63 years after Japanese forces shot him from the sky, a Massachusetts man boarded a final flight home.
It took six decades to positively identify the remains of Staff Sgt. Joseph “Freddie” Berube, a native of Fall River and a former Air Corps gunner whose plane was shot down in New Guinea.
Japanese enemy fire hit Berube’s B-25D-1 Mitchell bomber on Oct. 24, 1943, and he and the other crew members—1st Lt. Robert H. Miller of Providence, 2nd Lt. Robert L. Hale of Newtonville, Mass. and Staff Sgt. Glendon E. Harris of North Monmouth, Maine—were presumed dead.
Remains of what were believed to be the four men were found at the crash site three years later but medical technology had not advanced to the point where they could be positively identified, and they were buried in a cemetery in the Pacific marked only by a number.
Yet even before he officially went “missing,” Berube seems to have left few traces of his life in Fall River.
“Freddie was the big brother,” said Berube’s sibling and sole survivor from his immediate family, Normand, 83. “I looked up to him, and we spent time together, but it was rather limited.”
In 2001, Normand was asked to provide a DNA sample which was used to definitively determine the identity of his brother’s remains, a process that took nearly five years. Normand finally received his brother’s remains this fall, and on October 28, Berube was laid to rest in a funeral planned by nieces he never knew. Of the approximately 30 people who attended the ceremony in Natick, Normand was the only one Freddie had ever met.
Any letters Berube sent to Normand from the war have vanished with time—along with many of Berube’s classmates from Durfee High School’s graduating class of 1936. During his senior year, Berube was too busy working, according to his brother, to belong to clubs or play on a sports team. With many of his classmates now gone, it is almost impossible to find anyone in the area who remembers him. In his senior yearbook his name is listed only once—with the other students whose pictures are missing.
But Berube’s brother recalls a young man who, while perhaps low-profile, seemed to work tirelessly on behalf of his family and fellow soldiers. “We were growing up during the Depression,” said Normand.
When Normand was about 9-years-old and Freddie was about 14, the boys’ mother died. As the oldest son—with two other younger brothers, Leo and Albert, and an older sister, Jeannette—Freddie Berube’s high school extracurricular activities consisted of jobs.
“Freddie was both a grocery boy and a paper boy,” Normand said. “He did both jobs and probably earned five or six dollars a week, which was a considerable contribution to the family income.” However, as a result, “he was away from the family quite a bit of the time.”
After graduating from high school in 1936, Berube moved to Northbridge, where he worked as an apprentice machinist before getting a job at the Pratt & Whitney manufacturing company in Hartford. In November, 1940, Berube enlisted in the Army Air Corps.
As a member of the 8th Bomb Squadron, Berube found himself facing peril on a regular basis. Three months before his final mission, Berube participated in a successful attack on the Japanese at Cape Gloucester airdrome for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. On that flight, although their turret guns jammed, Berube and another member of the crew “worked frantically and cleared their guns as the enemy fighters were pressing their attacks to close range.” They managed to use “skillful evasive action” to elude the attacking airplanes and return safely to base, according to an Air Force citation.
But on Oct. 24, 1943, Berube and his crew would not be as lucky. Maxine Pray, the niece of Berube’s crew mate Staff Sgt. Harris, has researched her uncle’s military history extensively. That October, the 8th Squadron was forcefully targeting a Japanese-controlled base in the South Pacific, she said.
“They were taking their bombers out…and hitting Rabaul every day the weather was in their favor,” she said. “On October 24th…between 60 and 70 Japanese planes were trying to break up the attack.”
On that day, according to eyewitness accounts filed with the military, at least one of these planes attacked Berube’s bomber.
“The plane, a Zero, dropped down below Lieutenant Miller’s plane…and came up from underneath with his guns blazing,” wrote Staff Sgt. Benny C. Cessna in his account. “Lieutenant Miller’s right wing was blown off just inside the star insignia and the right wing dropped.”
In a separate report, Staff Sgt. Verlon E. Woodard added his observations. “The plane crashed on the water edge in a grove of palm trees…. As it crashed there was a large flame and a lot of black smoke.”
Although Berube didn’t make it safely home, his recent return to Massachusetts has reopened his story.
“Up until I heard from the Joint Command of Missing in Action and Prisoners of War in 2001, I’d essentially closed the book on Freddie,” said Normand.
In the spring, Normand will have the chance to meet the relatives of the other crew members. Not all of the human remains from the crash site could be specifically identified by the military’s identification laboratory, and these collective remains will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
“I’ve had calls from all three families,” Normand said. “I’m looking forward to that.”
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Hodes Gets More Confident His First Week in Washington
HODES
Keene Sentinel
Lauren Katims
Boston University Washington News Service
11-16-06
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 —Just like a freshman in high school, New Hampshire Rep.-elect Paul Hodes felt overwhelmed when he arrived in Washington last Sunday for freshmen orientation, but after a week of congressional lessons, he said, he feels more comfortable.
“As the week has gone on, I’ve felt more confident. There’s much more that I don’t know than I know, but at least I know that I don’t know,” he said with a chuckle.
For the past few days, Hodes has been busy in meetings with members of Congress who have been introducing him to the rules of the House.
And it seems that he is catching on. He has already been mentioned in The Hill, a newspaper that cover Congress, for supporting Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in the race for House majority leader.
Hoyer won the post on Wednesday, defeating Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), who had the public support of House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Hodes said he was happy that Hoyer won and that now the Democratic Party can move forward. But the press is making a big deal of something that is not really an issue, he said.
It is just the way Democrats do business, he said. They have “open discussions and real contests,” he said. “We are tough, smart and fearless, and together we are going to move this country forward.”
The dispute over choosing a majority leader was not a reflection of how Pelosi will lead or how the Democrats will rule Congress, he said, adding, “We are unified on important issues.”
Hodes said he was pleased with the new leaders and they will “help propel the Democrats to victory.” Now they can start working on other issues like improving health care and raising the federal minimum wage, he said.
“Congress has been very welcoming,” Hodes said. Orientation has given him the chance not only to learn about Congress but also to meet new people. He’s been working closely with Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire’s other representative elect, to plan how to “work hard for New Hampshire,” he said.
He also has been meeting with newly elected Peter Welsh (D-Vt.) and working with the two Maine representatives to discuss issues affecting the northern part of New England.
But even in the midst of his busy schedule, Hodes said he has had time to take a step back and see the big picture.
“Walking onto the floor of the United States Congress for the first time was incredibly moving-- to feel the history, to experience it first-hand,” he said. “The reverence and awe of this institution is beyond words.”
And it’s not just Congress that has kept Hodes busy. He has been looking for a place to live, and Friday he gets to pick his office. Saturday he returns home to New Hampshire, where his busy schedule doesn’t cease.
He said he has learned a lot from being here only a week, and he wants “to make sure I come to Congress with a good core group to help me,” Hodes said.
Next week, Hodes’ staff plans to look through the piles of resumes they’ve received to fill the Washington staff positions, said Dana Houle, his chief of staff and only one of two Washington aides hired so far. Hodes is in no rush to fill the spots. He wants to “make sure we hire the right people instead of rushing into it,” Houle said.
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Murphy and Courtney Vote for Murtha
HOYER
The New Britain Herald
Tia Albright
Boston University Washington News Service
November 16, 2006
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 – Connecticut’s incoming Democratic representatives voiced their support Thursday for newly elected House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), even though both said they voted for John Murtha (D-Pa.).
Rep.-elect Christopher Murphy said he voted for Murtha because Murtha is a good friend of Rep. John Larson (D-1st). “I supported Murtha,” Murphy said. “He and John Larson are great friends, and a friend of John Larson’s is a friend of mine.”
Rep.-elect Joseph Courtney (D-2nd), who praised Murtha’s stance on the war in Iraq, said he thinks the controversy surrounding the vote will clear quickly.
“I think it was a hard-fought race, but these are experienced leaders who understand that the race ended when the vote was tallied,” Courtney said. “It’s time to focus on the agenda, which is to get change moving in this country.”
The controversy began when Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) publicly endorsed Murtha for House majority leader. Hoyer, a 26-year member of Congress, and the current House minority whip, was considered to be the favorite before Pelosi’s announcement.
Hoyer defeated Murtha 149-86.
Murphy said that regardless of his vote for Murtha he will be a supporter for the elected leader.
“I think Steny Hoyer is going to be an outstanding leader for our caucus,” he said. “He was a great help to a lot of freshman [during the campaigns], and he’s going to be an even better leader as we head into the majority.”
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Simmons’ Office Prepares to Pack Up After Losing One of Nation’s Closest Races
SIMMONS
New London Day
Margaret Stevenson
Boston University News Service
November 16, 2006
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 —Filled cardboard boxes, taped and ready to be shipped back to Connecticut, were stacked up in the congressional office of Rep. Rob Simmons (R-Conn.) on Thursday morning, proof that after six years in office and a tough fight in the midterm elections, he is going home.
“It’s sort of like going through old photographs,” Todd Mitchell, Simmons’ chief of staff, said with a touch of nostalgia. “There are files from when Rob was a freshman.”
Clad in a dark Tommy Hilfiger sweater, jeans, flip-flops and capped with a hat from the basketball team of University of Maryland, his alma mater, Mitchell moved about the office, packing and throwing away trash.
Two large trash containers sat in the hallway outside of his congressional office, filled with shredded paper, newspapers and crushed boxes.
After losing his run for reelection by less than 100 votes to Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) in one of the tightest congressional races in the nation this year, Simmons conceded Wednesday and is to vacate his congressional office by Dec. 3.
“It was a classy way to end it,” Mitchell said of Simmons’ concession.
Mitchell said he thought people in Connecticut’s 2nd District, would quickly miss the work Simmons has done.
“Joe Courtney has some big shoes to fill,” he said. “We wish him good luck.”
Mitchell said he was sure Simmons would be sitting down with his family and taking stock.
“Politics is still in his blood and bones,” Mitchell said. “It will take time to figure out where he will go from here.”
His staff will be looking for new work and Mitchell said it would not be easy finding a new job on the Hill given the recent Democratic majority. He estimated that 900 Republican staff jobs were lost in the election.
William Cox, a staff assistant in Simmons’ Washington office, said he was looking for another position after joining Simmons’ staff in June, shortly after he graduated college.
“We are spending this time wrapping up constituent services and leaving the office in order,” said Cox, of eastern Connecticut.
Mitchell, who has worked on the Hill for 15 years, the last six with Simmons, said he wasn’t really scrambling to find new work right away.
“I think I’ll spend some time with my nine-month-old baby and maybe lose the 25 pounds I gained while working here,” he joked.
Simmons, who has been in Connecticut for the recount, will not be returning to Washington until Dec. 4, according to Mitchell, who said there are essentially no votes until Dec. 5.
Simmons will be dropping by his office to pack up his things before they have to be out, Mitchell said.
Mitchell said the transitional period is a difficult one, but that closing up the office properly, serving constituents, and making sure the staff is heading in the right direction are his top priorities.
“We want to make ‘a seamless transition’ like Rob said,” Mitchell said.
The office is still dealing with a few last spending requests and, Mitchell said, he hoped that Courtney will follow some of Simmons’ more popular policies.
“Rob Simmons has been vocal about two submarines a year for Connecticut and tax relief, among other issues” Mitchell said. “Will Courtney take a seat on the Armed Services Committee? Is he going to finish Route 11? Will he support tax relief?”
Mitchell said Simmons brought tax cuts to the 2nd District in Connecticut, which he called “the most taxed state in the nation.”
Unanswered letters from constituents that the staff will be unable to get to and reports regarding individual constituent issues from the 2nd District will be transferred to Courtney, Mitchell said.
Mitchell said he wished the race had been more about Simmons and his record and not about the president’s popularity. He said this midterm election was national and not local.
“This was possibly the worst political environment since Watergate,” he said.
He called Simmons “collateral damage” of the message being sent to President Bush and the Republican-led congress.
“There were more moderates getting bumped out,” Mitchell said. “People are moving further apart and Rob was one of the middlemen.”
Mitchell called the race against Courtney “tough but fair.”
Mitchell said he had no regrets and that he worked for “a great man” who served the people of eastern Connecticut well.
“That’s the frustration about it—less than 100 votes,” Mitchell said. “It’s pretty maddening when you think of everything you’ve done.”
Mitchell said that politics aren’t easy and that going into the field, you know there is always a winner and a loser.
“I guess I better get back to packing,” Mitchell said.
###
House Democrats Pick Leadership, Spurn Pelosi’s Choice
Housevote
The Eagle-Tribune
Bryan McGonigle
Boston University Washington News Service
Nov. 16, 2006
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 – House Democrats Thursday elected Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., to be the next majority leader – going against the wishes of Speaker-elect Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Pelosi had publicly supported Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who gained national fame last year when he called for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.
Pelosi, D-Calif., was unanimously elected Speaker of the House – putting her behind only Vice President Dick Cheney in the line of succession for the presidency.
"I am extremely pleased that Nancy Pelosi will be the next Speaker of the House and look forward to working with her as she leads the Congress in a bold new direction,” Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass., said.
But Pelosi’s choice for the next highest House position was spurned by the Democratic caucus. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., who has served 25 years in Congress, was elected House majority leader, defeating Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Pa., 149 to 86 in the secret ballot vote.
Hoyer, 67, is finishing his 13th term in Congress. He has been the House minority whip since 2003.
Murtha, 74, was Pelosi’s campaign manager in 2001 when she successfully ran for minority leader against Hoyer.
Pelosi was criticized by many in the party after she intervened in the heated contest between Murtha and Hoyer, issuing a letter Sunday to House Democrats expressing her support for Murtha. Critics accused Pelosi of choosing favoritism over the well-being of the party and failing to stand by her pledge to end corruption in the House.
Murtha has been accused by some Democrats of overstepping ethical boundaries and thwarting attempts to tighten rules on lobbying. He gained national attention last year when he called for an end to the war in Iraq.
In the new Congress, Murtha will chair the Defense Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, which funds the war in Iraq and the Pentagon budget.
After the vote Pelosi said, “I was proud to support him [Murtha] for majority leader because I thought that he would be the best way to bring an end to the war in Iraq
Hoyer, in contrast, has cautioned against leaving Iraq too quickly.
“Steny was more where the mainstream of the party was,” Rep. Barney Frank told the Associated Press after the vote. Frank will chair the House Financial Services Committee.
Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., didn’t say who got his vote for majority leader but said he was pleased with the new leadership.
“I think we have an extraordinarily strong team,” Tierney said. “We’re all looking forward in a unified fashion to take this country in a new direction.”
Meehan also did not say for whom he had voted and did not comment about that election’s outcome.
But it was reported before the leadership election that Meehan supported Murtha for the position. Meehan said on MSNBC on Tuesday that Murtha “shows his courage by standing up on the Iraq war and calling for America to go in a new direction. So that’s the type of leadership I’m looking for.”
Dr. Frank Talty, political science professor at UMass Lowell, said the issue of political fallout over majority leader election won’t likely affect party performance or public opinion.
“I can’t help but think that the story is being overblown,” Talty said.
Talty said he thinks Pelosi will exercise her power with the same effectiveness as if her top choice had won. Even with the huge margin of victory for Hoyer, Talty said, “It’s going to be the speaker’s job now to move the party in a single direction. I don’t think the two or three items that they put on their immediate agenda are going to suffer in any way.”
The fact that the party is still new to power also will diminish the impact of the leadership election, Talty said.
“They really haven’t had a chance to govern or act as the majority party yet,” he said.
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McGovern, Anxious to Leave Iraq, Backed Murtha
MCGOVERN
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Katherine Geyer
Boston University News Service
November 16, 2006
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16- Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) voted for Rep. John Murtha (D- Pa.) for House majority leader in Thursday’s election, he said, because he agrees with Mr. Murtha’s opposition to the war in Iraq.
Murtha lost to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in a vote of 149-86 when the Democrats of the 110th Congress met to choose the party’s House leaders starting in January.
Mr. Murtha, a Vietnam veteran and two-time Purple Heart winner, has called for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Iraq region.
“I voted for Murtha in large part because I feel so strongly that we need to do everything we can to end this war in Iraq,” Mr. McGovern said. “I think it would have been another powerful signal that would indicate to the White House that we need to get serious here.”
Mr. Hoyer, who is finishing his second term as the House minority whip, does not share Mr. Murtha’s views on Iraq and has said that the U.S. needs to provide the troops with every resource necessary to succeed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But Mr. McGovern said he does not believe that the other House Democrats voted based on the war or other ideologies. “For some people it’s like, ‘rather than shake things up or rock the boat, let’s just stay with the team that is tried and true and we know works,’ ” he said.
“I think Steny has been a good whip,” he said. “I think that’s more the reason than ideology.”
Mr. McGovern said personal relationships also played a role in the Democrats’ decisions.
“It was kind of a mixed up vote based on people’s personal relationships,” he said.
Stephen Hess, professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University, agreed. “These things are always to some degree a popularity contest,” he said.
“It’s an election in which they intimately know the candidates running for office,” he said. “So to that degree, it’s more like electing to choose the senior class president in high school. More people like Steny Hoyer than John Murtha.”
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who the Democrats elected as their new speaker, publicly endorsed Mr. Murtha as majority leader. Some political analysts have criticized her decision to support Mr. Murtha, who managed her campaign during her race against Mr. Hoyer for minority leader in 2001.
“This was her first challenge [as Speaker-elect] and in political terms, she certainly failed it,” said Mr. Hess. “But it doesn’t mean very much other than the sense that she’s not as shrewd or as smart or as clever as she otherwise might have been.”
Mr. McGovern said he believes Ms. Pelosi’s power has not been diminished.
“Inside The Beltway, that’s what everybody thinks. That if you don’t win everything, somehow you’re weakened,” he said. “It’s nice to win, but sometimes loyalty and standing up for your convictions is every bit as important.”
Mr. Hess said the real test of her leadership is going to be how well she can push the Democrats’ agenda next year.
“With winning the majority, as we did on Nov. 7, comes great responsibility,” Mr. McGovern said. “The American people are expecting us to change things, to move things in a different direction.” He said he’s confident that Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Hoyer can do just that.
“People should feel pretty good about this team,” he said.
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Delahunt Calls for More Oversight into Costly Cuba Program
Cuba
Cape Cod Times
Paul Crocetti
Boston University Washington News Service
November 15, 2006
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 —Millions of dollars intended for promoting democracy in Cuba were spent without adequate federal oversight, according to a new government report.
The report prompted U.S. Reps. William Delahunt, D-Mass., and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Wednesday to call for more oversight into the federal aid program for promoting democracy in Cuba.
The report, released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office, Congress’ investigative arm, detailed ineffective management and oversight of the U.S. pro-democracy programs in the island nation.
According to the report, the U.S. has spent approximately $73 million to promote democracy in Cuba, but much of that money has been distributed with inadequate oversight. The report identified questionable expenditures like a gas chain saw, Nintendo Gameboys and Sony Playstations, Godiva chocolate and a cashmere sweater.
“Internal controls—both over the awarding of Cuba program grants and oversight of grantees—do not provide adequate assurance that the grant funds are being used properly and that grantees are in compliance with applicable laws and regulations,” the report stated.
Delahunt said he and Flake, who both oppose the embargo against Cuba, requested the report last year. Delahunt is the senior Democrat on the House International Relations Committee’s Oversight and Investigations subcommittee, while Flake is the vice-chair of that panel.
“We wanted an objective analysis of programs, operations, controls, and efficacy, given the context of what is transpiring in Iraq, in terms of waste and efficiency,” Delahunt said.
In July, the Bush Administration called for $80 million in additional funding for the program.
“Speaking for myself and my party, we haven’t exactly been that great at oversight,” Flake said.
Delahunt and Flake expressed concern that 95 percent of the grants from the U.S. Agency for International Development were made “in response to unsolicited proposals,” according to the report.
Delahunt, who is in line to become chairman of the investigations subcommittee, said the panel will likely hold hearings on this issue at the start of the next Congress.
“I would expect that the subcommittee will invite grantees and others participating in Cuba democracy promotion to come before the committee and answer the type of questions that Jeff and I and others, on a bipartisan basis, have raised,” Delahunt said.
Delahunt, who has traveled to Cuba many times with Flake, said the situation there will remain one of his most important issues as he enters his sixth term of Congress.
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