You know the rest...
Posted on 07/13/2007 11:52:36 PM PDT by yahoo
2 top Republicans propose own Iraq bill
By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer
Two top Republicans cast aside President Bush's pleas for patience on Iraq Friday and proposed legislation demanding a new strategy by mid-October to restrict the mission of U.S. troops.
The proposal, by veteran GOP Sens. John Warner of Virginia and Richard Lugar of Indiana, came as the Pentagon conceded that a decreasing number of Iraqi battalions are able to operate on their own.
"American military and diplomatic strategy in Iraq must adjust to the reality that sectarian factionalism is not likely to abate anytime soon and probably cannot be controlled from the top," the Warner-Lugar proposal states.
Democrats and the White House were dismissive of the proposal. However, it could attract significant support from GOP colleagues who are frustrated by Iraq but reluctant to break ranks with their party or force the hand of a wartime president.
The two senators are considered the GOP's foremost national security experts. Warner was the longtime chairman of the Armed Services Committee until stepping down last year, while Lugar is the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee.
The legislation also draws heavily from existing GOP-backed proposals, increasing the chances of attracting support.
It would require Bush to submit by Oct. 16 a plan to "transition U.S. combat forces from policing the civil strife or sectarian violence in Iraq" to a narrow set of missions: protecting Iraqi borders, targeting terrorists, protecting U.S. assets and training Iraqi forces.
The bill suggests the plan be ready for implementation by next year.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid balked at the proposal because it would not require Bush to implement the strategy. He said he prefers legislation the Senate will vote on next week that would order combat troops to be out of Iraq by next spring.
Warner and Lugar "put a lot of faith in the president — that he will voluntarily change course and voluntarily begin to reduce the large U.S. combat footprint in Iraq," said Reid spokesman Jim Manley in a statement.
Earlier on Friday, Reid dismissed as too soft a separate proposal supported by several Republicans and Democrats that would require Bush to adopt the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, intended to pave the way for a 2008 withdrawal.
"If you give this president a choice, he will stay hunkered down in Iraq for years to come," Reid, D-Nev., said.
Bush spokesman Tony Fratto said the White House would review the Warner-Lugar measure. "But we believe the new way forward strategy — which became fully operational less than a month ago — deserves the time to succeed," he said.
In addition to requiring a new military strategy, the legislation calls on Bush to seek renewed authorization for the war, which Congress gave him in 2002. Many members contend that the authorization — which led to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 — was limited to approval of deposing Saddam Hussein and searching for weapons of mass destruction.
Through top aides and in private meetings and phone calls, Bush has repeatedly asked Congress to hold off on demanding a change in the course of the war until September, when the top U.S. commander, Gen. David Petraeus, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, deliver a fresh assessment of progress.
But many Republicans, most of whom will face voters next year, say they are tired of the war, which is in its fifth year and has killed more than 3,600 troops.
In a report to Congress this week, the White House conceded that not enough progress was being made in training Iraqi security forces — the linchpin in Bush's exit strategy for U.S. troops.
At a news conference Friday, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace, said the number of battle-ready Iraqi battalions able to fight independently has dropped from 10 to six in recent months despite an increase in U.S. training efforts.
Pace said the readiness of the Iraqi fighting units was not an issue to be "overly concerned" about because the problem was partly attributable to losses in the field.
"As units operate in the field, they have casualties, they consume vehicles and equipment," Pace said.
In another development Friday, Bush's top spokesman appeared resigned to the fact that the Iraqi parliament is going to take August off, even though it has just eight weeks to show progress on military, political and other benchmarks designated by the United States.
However, Tony Snow said, "Let's also see what happens because quite often when parliaments do not meet, they are also continuing meetings on the side. And there will be progress, I'm sure on a number of fronts."
The Warner-Lugar proposal is the first major legislative challenge to Bush's Iraq policy endorsed by the two senators. Lugar and Warner have previously expressed grave doubts about Bush's decision to send 30,000 extra troops to Iraq. But both remain reluctant to back binding legislation that would manage deployments.
"I have great respect for the constitutional separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches and the authorities granted to each in that document," Warner said in a statement Friday.
Funny...I always pictured Warner and Lugar as bottoms.
Bill Clinton ‘Black Hawk Down’ Republicans.
"I started this thread and I frontloaded with much praise for Sen. Richard Lugar. I appreciate the comments here by those of you who had opinions on his recent suggestion.
"But having praised both Lugar's integrity and common sense, I have to say that after having read his speech several times and seen his many interviews after the speech, his logic makes no sense.
"He admits that the current surge and the new alliance with the Sunnis in Anbar Province may be working in a way that none of our other strategies have in the last three years and more, but advocates abandoning this approach.
"He admits that chaos may well be the primary effect of our withdrawal - chaos to the point of geonicide -- but advocates a massive pullback that would allow such chaos.
"He argues that we have to continue fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq (which is what the current surge is attempting to do, with still too little manpower) and yet advocates continuing that fight after removing more than two-thirds of our combat troops.
"He says that "dialogue" with surrounding countries is the key, yet acknowledges that the countries he's talking about -- Iran and Syria -- have been instrumental in sewing chaos, fueling the insurgency, and killing Americans. He gives no details of why they might change their policies when we try to negotiate from a weakened position.
"He acknowledges that the tactical and strategic situation may continue to improve or at least change between now and September, yet argues that we need not wait for General Petreaus's report in September before beginning a bipartisan withdrawal policy.
"Finally, he says repeatedly that if we reduce our presence there -- even to the point of standing aside as Iraq explodes in an all-out civil war -- this will "bring in" European nations as our allies, even to the point of them providing troops. This is simply nonsensical.
"So -- having praised Lugar so extensively, I have to admit that his current proposal makes little sense, from any angle, unless one sees it as a senior Republican senator's attempt to remain a player in policy as that party's president's clout and party philosophy unravel. The speech that I thought might contain some wisdom seems, upon further study, almost devoid of any practical merit."
-- Dan Simmons
http://forum.dansimmons.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=19929&page=0&vc=1
Bush spokesman Tony Fratto said the White House would review the Warner-Lugar measure. “But we believe the new way forward strategy — which became fully operational less than a month ago — deserves the time to succeed,” he said.
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 10, 2007
Fact Sheet: The New Way Forward in Iraq
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070110-3.html
What part of ‘quitters never win’ do these people not understand?
2 top Republicans—on top of the dung heap. I’m sorry Lugar is my senator. Indiana needs to get someone to run against him, he’s been in the beltway too long.
You know the rest...
Tweedledee and Tweedledumb!
I am almost as sick of seeing their RINO faces as I am of Teddy Kennedy. What these two old fools need is a trip to the woodshed, except I don't think they'll be coming back.
“Two top Republicans”
The Senate is a cess pool, and we know what floats on top in a sewage lagoon!
“2 Top Repubicans” also known as “we can be weinies too”!Good lord where did the Repubican spine go when it comes to protecting national security?
Since when were these two yahoos considered "Top"?
Hey...no need to make it personal :P
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