Democrats in disarray as Bush basks in glow of Iraq trip
Jun 14 9:54 AM US/Eastern
US President George W. Bush's triumphant return from his unannounced visit in Iraq found opposition Democrats more divided than ever on US policy in the wartorn country, and how best to capitalize on administration missteps there.
Republicans basked in the afterglow of the president's dramatic lightning visit Tuesday to meet with Iraq's new Prime Minister Nuri Maliki -- an event likely to figure prominently in a daylong debate Thursday in the House of Representatives on Iraq and the US "war on terror."
Bush's trip Tuesday followed last week's successes in Iraq, with the formation of the country's new unity government and the killing of Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
But Democrats -- who have disagreed about the war since the invasion more than three years ago -- continued to be riven by internal dissent, particularly on the critical question of an exit strategy from Iraq.
One of the party's most prominent figures, Senator John Kerry, is expected to introduce a resolution this week calling for a pullout of American forces by the end of the year.
"No matter how brave our soldiers are, no matter how valiant, no matter what their caring ... our soldiers cannot bring democracy to Iraq at the barrel of a gun," Kerry said Tuesday at a gathering of progressive Democrats.
"The Iraqis themselves must build democracy. And it will never be done if Iraqis' leaders are unwilling to make the compromises necessary that that requires," the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate told hundreds of activists at a convention entitled "Campaign for America's Future: Take Back America."
But at the same forum, another top Senate Democrat, Hillary Clinton, insisted that it would not be a "smart strategy" to create a timeline to leave Iraq.
Both Kerry and Clinton are also leading presidential contenders in 2008, an election in which Iraq is due to figure prominently.
The divisions over Iraq also come with Democrats fighting to reclaim the House and Senate from Republicans in midterm elections in November.
Kerry, whom Bush defeated in the 2004 presidential election, said at Tuesday's rally that the president's presence in Iraq did not change his view that the US military venture there is counter-productive.
The Massachusetts Democrat derided the president's "quick, and now not-so-secret trip to Iraq," saying the military role there increasingly resembles the US military debacle in Vietnam.
"For a long time, we've been told that Iraq and Vietnam were different. But in telling and very tragic ways now, they are converging," he said.
He added: "We need a deadline now for the Iraqis to understand they must stand up and fight for their own country."
Clinton on Tuesday made a plea for party unity, urging Democrats to coalesce around their opposition to the Bush administration, rather than being fractured over Iraq and other internal party disagreements.
"If we're going to win in November then we have to be smarter, tougher and better prepared than our opponents," she said.
"One thing they do know how to do is win and we have to reach out to people who may not be able to agree with us."
Some Democrats, like Senator Charles Schumer, conceded that the administration has had a relatively good few days in Iraq, but said, without calling for a specific timetable for pulling out, that the successes are not enough to warrant a prolonged stay for troops.
"The president today went to Iraq, I'm glad he went to Iraq. He got a first hand look. Maybe he'll come out finally with a plan that will show us a way out of this quagmire," Schumer told a news conference.
The US Senate on Wednesday was to hold a vote on emergency funding for US military operations in Iraq, after the House on Tuesday passed the 94.5 billion dollar measure, which included 66 billion dollars for US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. |
