Obama Faces Uphill Battle on War Funds

Latest Emergency Funding Meets Growing Questions

With a massive budget crisis and growing questions about strategy, the upcoming House vote on President Obama’s request for $33 billion in “emergency” funding for the war in Afghanistan faces an usually uphill battle, with opposition from both wings.

Recent claims from ousted Intelligence Chief Amrullah Saleh that President Karzai has lost faith in the US war effort have fueled questions among Republicans, particularly with so many questions about Karzai’s ability to lead.

Among Democrats, the rising cost of the war and questions about how its funding can be reconciled with funding various health and education programs is also adding to the doubts.

Just three months ago a resolution against ending the war in Afghanistan was soundly defeated in the House, but the growing death toll, the growing cost, and the increasingly obvious reality that the latest US war plan, like so many others, is falling short of expectations, means the next vote could well be far closer.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.