Both House and Senate have now sent a clear message to the world: Osama bin Laden was right. America does not have the stomach for a fight. We cannot stand the sight of our own blood. Our allies, especially those in Iraq who are depending on us to help them stabilise their country, get the message loud and clear. So do our enemies, who now know that if they manage to hold on for another eighteen months, they will prevail. Worst of all, our troops get the message, too.

Democrats in the House amended a bill containing needed funding for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to include a specific withdrawal date for our troops in Iraq: the end of August 2008, regardless of circumstances. Members attached some $24 billion worth of pork, mostly designed to bribe specific Representatives who would otherwise not have voted in favor of the bill for various reasons. For instance, the bill contains $74 million for peanut storage, apparently a vital wartime concern. Spinach growers -- who contributed over $30,000 to the campaign of Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) -- will receive $25 million to "offset losses from last fall's E. coli contamination" if the bill becomes law. Dairy interests -- who contributed $9,000 to Rep. David Obey's (D-WI) last campaign -- will receive $252 million. Now that's a return on investment! When asked whether the campaign contributions were a factor in the pork attachments, Obey said, "I represent dairy farmers. You got a problem with that?" Due to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's machinations, the bill passed 218-212.

The Senate version of the bill contains vital military spending like $16 million to build new offices for House members, $13 million for the Ewe Lamb Replacement and Retention Program and $5 million for fish breeders, all labeled "emergency spending." It was thought that the bill would not get through the Senate with the withdrawal date included, but it passed with a vote of 50-48.

If the President does not approve funding by mid-April, the military will begin to face severe hardships. Those hardships will be felt most keenly by our troops in the field, who will begin to run short of ammunition, armor, replacement parts and vehicles, food and medical supplies. It will become more difficult to replace the wounded and rotate troops out of combat. Therefore, the President must sign an appropriations bill by then.

On the other hand, setting a date for withdrawal is tantamount to national suicide. It sends the message that America is too weak to fight; that we can be beaten by terror tactics. If we leave Iraq before the people can protect themselves, the Iraqi experiment with democracy will succumb to Iranian control on one side and that of al-Qaeda on the other. Both will become far more powerful than they had previously dared to believe. With our defeat at the hands of a few thugs and bombers, we would deserve the opprobrium of every country on Earth, nor would any country hesitate to act against us. North Korea would build its nuclear arsenal unchecked, as would Iran. China's tenuous alliance with North Korea and Russia would become unbreakable. Pakistan would fall, and India would face a nuclear-armed radical Muslim regime without backing from the West. Europe's reluctant slide into Islamofascist domination would become a free-fall. Therefore, the President must not sign any bill that contains a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.

There is only one thing for Bush to do. The President of the United States must go on strike.

If President Bush refuses to sign any bill, for any purpose, until a clean military funding bill reaches his desk, he can effectively shut down the federal government. Congress would be hamstrung, unable to pass any measure until the President once again picks up his pen. In the absence of an Executive branch, the Legislature has no function, and it's time the Chief Executive exercises his ability to rein in the excesses of this Democrat-controlled Congress. The Democrats may have taken over one branch of government, but they need to be reminded that Congress is not the whole of it.

It remains to be seen whether President Bush has the foresight and fortitude to make such a move. If he does not, he might as well pull our troops back from every corner of the world now, and we should all prepare for the worst the world can throw at us.

Joe Mariani is a computer consultant born and raised in New Jersey. He now lives in Pennsylvania, where the gun laws are less restrictive and taxes are lower. Joe always thought of himself as politically neutral until he saw how far left the left had really gone after 9/11. His essays and links to articles are available at http://www.guardianwatchblog.com/