WASHINGTON — In another sign that congressional Republicans are losing patience with the White House war strategy, two GOP senators Thursday got behind new legislation designed to encourage the Bush administration to reduce U.S. military involvement in Iraq.

Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Gordon Smith of Oregon are cosponsoring a nonbinding resolution by Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) that urges decentralizing the Iraqi government and creating semiautonomous regions for Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. Biden has been championing the plan for more than a year.

LA Times

I have always thought that Biden had something here when he brought forth this proposal some time ago. Iraq originally was three separate Ottoman regions before it was fused together by the British through permission of the League of Nations following World War I. I honestly believe that dividing Iraq back into three regions based on the separate religious factions may be the only way to bring stability to the area.

Westerners truly underestimate the influence religion has in the Middle East, I think because we are used to a separation between religion and our government. You cannot force these opposing religious factions to coexist under one roof. They have to learn that on their own. Sure, Saddam did it, but he did it with brutality. That kind of end result would render the ousting of Saddam all for nothing.

“Simply put,” Biden continued, “Iraq cannot be run from the center absent a dictator or foreign occupation. If we want the country to hold together and find stability, we have to make federalism work.”

Brownback agreed Thursday, calling the so-called federalism plan “the only political solution that works.”

This is a good idea and I hope the President gives this his strong consideration.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson will make his first visit to South Carolina since creating a “testing-the-waters” committee on June 27, when he’ll keynote a fundraising luncheon for the state party.

“We’re ecstatic that Sen. Thompson is coming to help the party,” said a buoyant Katon Dawson, chairman of the South Carolina GOP.

The event will be two-tiered, with a “roundtable discussion” preceding the luncheon.  Tickets for the VIP event will go for $1,000 per-person. The main event will cost $50 per person.

The event, to take place at a hotel in Columbia, will draw hundreds of activists, Dawson predicted. He said Republicans throughout the state have been asking him just when they’ll get a glimpse at who is expected to be the next entrant into the presidential race.

Politico

I would really like to go to this, but I don’t know if I can.  I am only an hour from Columbia, but this appears to be during the day and I have a lot of traveling coming up for work, not to mention some medical issues I need taken care of so I don’t know if I could get the day off or not.  If by some slim chance I can make it, this would be pretty awesome.

President Bush, trying to recover from a stinging setback on immigration, will personally try in a visit to the Capitol next week to revive the embattled plan for legalizing millions of unlawful immigrants.

Bush’s scheduled lunch on Tuesday with GOP senators is part of a campaign by the White House and allies in both parties to placate or outmaneuver conservative Republicans who blocked the broad immigration measure this week. They said Friday they would try again to reach accord on the number of amendments the dissidents could offer.

Opponents of the bill promised to continue fighting all such efforts.

AP

All of these years that we have heard the Left refer to President Bush as stupid or an idiot; they may have actually been on to something. I am not the least bit surprised, though. The Bush Administration has never been one to actually respect the opinions of the base that put him in the White House to begin with.

Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., a key opponent, said the bill as written “still unfairly burdens taxpayers, doesn’t ensure secure borders and guarantees amnesty” for illegal immigrants.