In a development sure to warm the hearts of all our soldiers in Iraq…
A small group of Republicans facing election fights next year have rallied around war legislation they think could unite the GOP: call for an end to U.S. combat in Iraq, but wait until President Bush is out of office.
So..what the hell does that mean?
The proposal, by Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, would require that Bush change the mission of U.S. troops from combat to primarily support roles, such as training Iraqi security forces and protecting U.S. infrastructure in Iraq. His legislation would set a goal of completing such a mission transition within 15 months…
Voinovich thought by extending the date to 15 months from now, it would take the 2008 elections off the table and entice Republicans to support it.
Going for two and a half Friedman Units in one mad grasp? Why not? How would such a bill ‘require’ Bush to do much of anything. The whole point is to push the full implementation of the policy off to the last days of Bush’s presidency (if it is made law today). And Bush doesn’t recognize Congress’s right to set foreign policy.
In any case, Carl Levin says this strategy is unacceptable and it won’t become law. It is just one more example of wankery by so-called moderate Republicans. They are like bugs drowning in a tall glass of water. They keep flailing about, trying to save themselves. But they don’t have the muscle to get out of their trap.
