In White House, Debate Is Rising on Iraq Pullback

[jefferson_dem]

Source: NYT

In White House, Debate Is Rising on Iraq Pullback
By DAVID E. SANGER
Published: July 9, 2007

White House officials fear that the last pillars of political support among Senate Republicans for President Bush’s Iraq strategy are collapsing around them, according to several administration officials and outsiders they are consulting. They say that inside the administration, debate is intensifying over whether Mr. Bush should try to prevent more defections by announcing his intention to begin a gradual withdrawal of American troops from the high-casualty neighborhoods of Baghdad and other cities.

Mr. Bush and his aides once thought they could wait to begin those discussions until after Sept. 15, when the top field commander and the new American ambassador to Baghdad are scheduled to report on the effectiveness of the troop increase that the president announced in January. But suddenly, some of Mr. Bush’s aides acknowledge, it appears that forces are combining against him just as the Senate prepares this week to begin what promises to be a contentious debate on the war’s future and financing.

Four more Republican senators have recently declared that they can no longer support Mr. Bush’s strategy, including senior lawmakers who until now had expressed their doubts only privately. As a result, some aides are now telling Mr. Bush that if he wants to forestall more defections, it would be wiser to announce plans for a far more narrowly defined mission for American troops that would allow for a staged pullback, a strategy that he rejected in December as a prescription for defeat when it was proposed by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group.

“When you count up the votes that we’ve lost and the votes we’re likely to lose over the next few weeks, it looks pretty grim,” said one senior official, who, like others involved in the discussions, would not speak on the record about internal White House deliberations.

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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/09/washington/09prexy.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

[Fluffdaddy]

1. Gradual withdrawal of American troops is just another bush delay tactic

[grytpype]

2. K&R!!!!! K&R!!!!! K&R!!!!

Wow, read the whole thing. The wheels are really coming off over at the White House.

[Doctor_J]

3. I wonder if somone will tell Smirk before he again declares that the surge

is working.

Who here thinks he actually goes to any of these meetings?

[arewenotdemo]

5. The surge IS working, according to Senator Lindsay Graham.

Just back from her 7th trip to Baghdad, she noted that morale couldn't be higher:

"Morale was very high," Graham said. "It was something to see."

I'm sure that seeing our boys in such high spirits did a lot for Lindsay's morale, as well.

So, you see, since the surge began conditions there are becoming simply fabulous.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/17664.html

[young_at_heart]

4. Keep replaying all of his "We are not quitters" speeches

It seems as though "We will not cut and run" was said a million times. Reality has never been his strong suit.

[ckramer]

6. 100+ deaths per month certainly plays a role in forcing his hand

He has to face the grim reality sooner or later no matter how he is unwilling to.

[Roy]

7. Shouldn't what comes after the surge........

been a part of the planning before the surge?

Did these guys just say,"Okay, let's surge and see what happens?"

I guess the cost, the tune of a hundred dead military kids a month is not a factor to be considered.

snip
"and in our conversations with generals on the ground and policy makers in Iraq, are thinking about what happens after a surge,” Tony Fratto, the deputy White House press secretary, told reporters on Friday,"
snip

[Socal31]

8. A complete, or at least 95% withdrawl of Americans

would be a great day indeed. I would celebrate like I won the lottery.

[rodeodance]

9. I think those 4 Repugs all talking of NEXT spring to pull out/down. Bush

still 'has' them. Time for Harry to FORCE a vote! TODAY!