Start U.S. Iraq withdrawal in 4-6 months: Democrats

[Guava Jelly]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=newsOne&storyID=2006-11-12T145224Z_01_N12416335_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-USA-DEMOCRATS.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C2-TopNews-newsOne-2
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats, who won majorities in the U.S. Congress in last week's elections, said on Sunday they will push for a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq to begin in four to six months.

"The first order of business is to change the direction of Iraq policy," said Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who is expected to be chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee in the new Congress.

Levin, on ABC's "This Week," said he hoped some Republicans would emerge to join Democrats and press the administration of President George W. Bush to tell the Iraqi government that U.S. presence was "not open-ended."

[rodeodance]

1. i think dean said even June o next year would be too soon.

[madmusic]

2. Dean wasn't elected. Point taken, though...

If we pull out too fast and it gets too much uglier than it is now, who will get the blame for BushCo's fiasco?

[caledesi]

4. Key word in article - PHASED.....nt

[Mortis]

3. Wow

Well, that's one of them.

Let's see if it happens in January.

[mike_c]

5. so what do you tell the people who die during the interim...?

"You died so that the U.S. could look like it wasn't cutting and running?" This is just more political cowardice. The war against Iraq is a crime-- we have a responsibility to STOP it, not slow it down, not drag it out, not find a "timetable" for stopping it, and not "phase" it out. Do we tell serial killers that it's OK to continue as long as they have a timetable to stop their killing eventually? Why would we do that for those who've murdered over 600,000 civilians in Iraq?

[IndianaGreen]

13. You tell them that they died for a mistake

at least you are telling them the truth.

[cali]

18. I am so grateful

that people like you are not in a leadership position in the dem party.

[mike_c]

25. why? Because I speak the truth?

It's hard to face the truth about America these days, isn't it?

[JetCityLiberal]

26. It is for this one

I wish you were a leader in the Dem party mike. I like the way you think and what you post here.

Many thanks! :thumbsup:

[PSPS]

6. Frankly, I think restoring Saddam is looking more and more as the best option.

[cassiepriam]

24. Bingo, instead of hanging him, give him back his job. nt

[Oleladylib]

7. I say 5,000 per month(starting Jan.) through June then 10,000 until a UN force is established..n/t

[MGD]

8. Democrats say will push for Iraq withdrawal

Sun Nov 12, 2006 5:08pm ET
By Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats, who won control of the U.S. Congress, said on Sunday they will push to begin withdrawing American troops from Iraq in the next few months but the White House cautioned against fixing timetables.

The Iraqi government must be told that U.S. presence is "not open-ended," said Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat expected to be chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee in the new Congress that convenes in January.

"We need to begin a phased redeployment of forces from Iraq in four to six months," Levin said on ABC's "This Week."


President George W. Bush has insisted that U.S. troops would not leave until Iraqis can take over security, and has repeatedly rejected setting a timetable for withdrawal.

The White House, however, said that Bush is open to new ideas and the president will meet on Monday with the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which is considering alternative approaches.


http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-11-13T020425Z_01_N20203713_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-USA-1.xml&src=rss

[MGD]

9. I'm not sure a complete pull out is the best plan.

In fact, I would say it's a seriously flawed plan for many reasons. In the future, we will regret leaving prematurely as much as we presently regret having gone in in the first place... IMHO.

[IndianaGreen]

10. The only issue is how many names do you want on the Iraq War Memorial?

Each day, each week, each month, each year we stay in Iraq, will only result in more names being added to a future Iraq War Memorial.

We lost the war in Iraq, and we are about to lose Afghanistan. The longer we stay in Iraq, the more likely that we will lose Afghanistan.

The choice is yours.

[MGD]

11. We could fall back to a secured defensive perimeter and wait out the civil war.

It's fucking hideous, I know; however, they're going to have their civil war either way. This would be infinitely better than a rout.

[IndianaGreen]

12. Anything that gets our troops out of the carnage

would be preferable to what we have today. I am quite alarmed about recent press reports about the Pentagon planning to send National Guard units back to Iraq.

[MGD]

15. Precisely. Cutting down on operating costs would be nice too. nt

[Name removed]

17. Deleted sub-thread

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[INDIA]

22. I agree with you Indiana!

Good for you! It's nice to see you support the troops! Bring em home!:hi:

[laststeamtrain]

14. Link to NYT story: in Monday's edition

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/13/washington/13military.html?ei=5094&en=23910cc168662861&hp=&ex=1163394000&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print

[Az_lefty]

16. Timeline...12 months and we're gone...

put everyone on notice and just do it!

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

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[MGD]

23. They're killing each other and they'll still be killing each other in 13 months..

We're in the middle of a civil war. We are unable to affect the outcome. It will, in all liekliehood, be much worse once we leave. look to the Khmer Rouge for historical perspective. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Rouge

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

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[FernBell]

21. k&r