Both houses of Congress have been increasingly preoccupied with trying to get their priority egislation, especially the appropriations bills, dealt with, so that members can tend to the important business of getting re-elected. As a result, there has been little action on Middle East-related matters. Even the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the bungling of he aftermath of the Bush administration's ill-considered and ill-advised invasion and occupation of Iraq has led only to much congressional hand-wringing and not much action, apart from a few hearings by the Senate Armed Services Committee, headed by Sen. John Warner (R-VA).
There are signs, however, that at least a few members of …