True to form:Democrats retreat on war end
>politico.com, John Bresnahan and Martin Kady II
Sep 5, 2007
Reid is expected to return to the issue of a guaranteed withdrawal date in October when an Iraq supplemental spending bill reaches the Senate floor.
In a strategic shift designed to win over Republican critics of the Iraq war, congressional Democrats are backing off demands for a firm withdrawal date for U.S. troops and instead are seeking a new bipartisan deal to end the military campaign.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are calculating that it is futile to continue their months-long campaign to force an immediate end to the war, particularly after Republicans and a few Democrats returned from the summer recess intent on opposing legislation mandating a strict timetable for pulling out U.S. troops.
The change is both rhetorical and substantive. Reid and others are increasingly talking of “bipartisan compromise,” while top Democrats are reworking legislation erasing a date certain for ending the military operation. The strategic shift is certain to anger some war critics, but it reflects the reality that Democrats lack the votes to force President Bush’s hand.
“We are trying to manage expectations that we can’t end the war today or next week or next month,” said one Democrat involved in the discussions. “We have to make sure everyone understands that.”
Said another aide involved in the process: “Despite the months of debate, and all the votes, and all the ads and everything, we have not been able to break the Republicans. They are still with Bush, and that’s the reality here.”
The new approach is something of a preemptive strike for Democrats. They anticipate snippets of good news from Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, when the two officials issue their much-anticipated status report to Congress next week. Democrats are also worried that they may be losing their political edge on the war, especially as a few congressional Democrats have publicly noted the signs of progress after returning from trips to Iraq.
Reid and other top Senate Democrats will focus, for now, on a revised proposal by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) that calls for the United States to begin withdrawing troops within 120 days of passage, but sets no firm date for having all forces out of Iraq.
Designed to attract support from Republican moderates who have so far continued to back Bush’s Iraq policy, the bill sets a “goal” of having the majority of American combat units out of Iraq by early 2008. Levin and Reed had proposed a withdrawal date of April 30, 2008, but Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he and Reed are revising their bill.
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