On Monday, the United States Senate passed the 2008 defense appropriations bill. The bill passed by a vote of 92-3, with the overwhelming majority of Democrats voting to support the bill despite the fact that it contained no language dealing with troop levels in the ongoing Iraq War. As would be expected, Michigan's two Democratic Party Senators--Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow--voted in favor of the bill, reflecting their longstanding opposition to any measure that would cut funding for military operations in Iraq. Interestingly, the five Senators who chose not to vote were all presidential candidates. These include four Democrats--Joe Biden, Hilary Clinton, Chris Dodd, and Barack Obama--and one Republican, John McCain. Only Dodd had released a statement explaining his failure to vote on the legislation. In that statement, Dodd expressed his wish to vote on a bill that would tie continued funding of the occupation to a withdrawal plan.

The majority of Democrats voted in favor of the funding package despite the fact that it guarantees $128 billion for the ongoing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. The Iraq War is currently costing $720 million per day or $500,00 per minute according to a recent report from the American Friends Service Committee. A poll released Tuesday raises questions about the support of those living in the United States for continued funding of the occupation, with 43% of respondents saying that they want the budget for the war reduced "sharply," 23% saying that they want the funding reduced "somewhat," and 3% saying that no funding should be provided. Only 27% of respondents supported the current funding levels.