Reply #23: nice rationalization

[AtomicKitten]

The Levin-Reed amendement would:

# Begin the "phased redeployment" or pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq in 2006.

# Require the administration to submit a plan by the end of 2006 for continued phased redeployment beyond 2006.

# Transform the role of troops left in the country to a "limited mission" of training and logistical support for Iraqi security forces, protection of U.S. personnel and facilities, and targeted counterterrorism operations.


Ned Lamont's statement on the Levin-Reed amendment:

Currently, our troops are stuck in a bloody civil war in Iraq, with no exit strategy. The violence continues unabated and the continued presence of our forces with no sign of a reduction fuels the insurgency and further destabilizes the region. President Bush and his allies believe American troops should stay in Iraq indefinitely - he said that it would be an issue for "“future Presidents and future governments of Iraq."

I support the Levin-Reed Amendment on U.S. Policy in Iraq, and I urge Senator Lieberman to do the same.

It represents the minimum needed, but will build a Democratic coalition to establish and stick to a plan to end the war.

The three main provisions of the Amendment - expediting the transition of U.S. forces to a limited mission, a phased redeployment of U.S. forces, and requiring the administration to submit to Congress its plan for continued redeployment beyond 2006 - are all critical to ensuring that the we move forward from our current failed strategy.

This is an issue that needs to be dealt with by the current President and the current government of Iraq. "Stay the course" is not a strategy for any real victory, and it is time that the President and Congress recognize that fact and take the steps needed to ensure true safety and security for the region and for America.