WASHINGTON - House Democrats have drafted new Iraq legislation they hope will
appeal to Republicans fed up with the war: Start withdrawing troops in two
months but leave it up to President Bush to decide when to complete the pullout.
Retired Gen. Jack Keane, a top Pentagon envoy, left, Lt. Col.
Morris Goins, commander of the 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd
Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, center, and Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, talk
while visiting the US troops in the field in Buhriz, north of Baghdad,
Iraq, Friday, Feb. 23, 2007. [AP]
|
The vote will come next week, as
members take up a $460 billion bill covering military spending for 2008. Another
vote could come again in September, after Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus
delivers a long-anticipated assessment on the war and Congress considers a $142
billion measure needed to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"This is big time," Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said of the upcoming fall
debate. "When you get to September, this is history. This is when we're going to
have a real confrontation with the president trying to work things out."
The House has passed similar anti-war measures in the past, but has been
unable to push the legislation through the Senate, where Democrats hold a
slimmer majority and Republicans have routinely blocked such bills from
advancing.
Most recently, the House approved legislation that would have required troop
withdrawals to begin this November and finish by April 1.
Under his latest plan, Murtha said he envisions troop withdrawals to start in
November and take about a year to complete. A draft of his proposal did not
include a firm end date.
In addition to the anti-war measure, Murtha said he also wants to propose
next week amendments that would require troops to meet certain standards before
being deployed and cut in half the $225 million budget for the Guantanamo Bay
military prison.
The prospects of Murtha's troop withdrawal measure passing next week were
unclear, as Republicans have said they are willing to hold off until September
and Democrats questioned whether it goes far enough.
"If they are not listening to reports from our generals today, how does
anyone believe they will make an honest and objective decision in September?"
asked Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, his party's leader. "Our national security is
not a political football, and Republicans aren't going to treat it as such."
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., a leading anti-war advocate, said she wants to
keep the April deadline.
"The House voted two weeks ago on a withdrawal measure with a clear timeline,
and I don't know why we would back away from that," said Lee.
Murtha said he has his sights set on September and thinks that by then
Republicans and the White House will jump on board. If Bush were to maintain
current troop levels through 2008, Murtha predicted that combat tours would have
to be extended from 15 months to 18 months - a politically unsavory position to
take on an already deeply unpopular war.
The Defense Department has said extending combat tours of troops would be a
last resort.
Bush has not given any indication he is open to a dramatic shift or a major
redeployment of troops after September. Instead, he has talked extensively about
the need to remain engaged in Iraq to fight al-Qaida and has repeatedly appealed
to lawmakers for more patience.
For their part, top US military officers also have indicated that the troop
buildup initiated this year may be needed through next summer.
Also come September, Murtha said it is possible Democrats may not want to
continue funding the war, or fund it in installments.
"We may decide in September we're not satisfied with what Gen. Petraeus says
and we may hold it up," he said.
With Republicans unwilling to consider strong anti-war bills just yet,
Democrats pushed other Iraq-related measures to show voters they are focused on
trying to end the war.
The House voted 399-24 on Wednesday to pass a bill proposed by Lee that would
ban permanent bases in Iraq. By week's end, the House Armed Services Committee
planned to draft legislation for a vote next week that would insist troops be
given sufficient time at home in- between combat tours.
Meanwhile, Iraq's ambassador to Washington, Samir Sumaidaie, told reporters
Wednesday that he is making a case in Congress and elsewhere for extending the
troop increase, despite the shifting political climate.
"Iraqi leaders are acutely aware of the political debate in Washington, that
there is the possibility of a change in policy" and a reduction in US troops,
Sumaidaie said. "I think it is fair to say they are very concerned about that.
Iraqi forces are not yet capable of holding the fort on their own."
The diplomat also complained that the United States has been slow to provide
weapons and other equipment requested by Iraqi armed forces and police, and said
the delay is at cross-purposes with the US goal of making Iraqis responsible for
their own security.
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he has
promised to work on getting the equipment moved to the Iraqis more quickly.
Asked if the delay was due to Pentagon bureaucracy, Pace said no, adding that it
had more to do with the recent increase in size of the Iraqi
forces.