Warner Offers Withdraw Proposal
Written by Sam on August 23rd, 2007
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., urged President Bush Thursday to announce in mid-September that he is beginning to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.
Warner, perhaps the most influential Republican senator on national security issues, said that withdrawing a small number of troops — perhaps as few as 5,000 — would send a “sharp, clear message” to Iraq, America and the world that the U.S. commitment in Iraq isn’t open-ended.
Now this is an idea that I think has some merit. Unlike Walt Jones who wants us to completely pull out yesterday, Warner’s proposal is sensible. One of the big problems in Iraq is the government there. They clearly have not stepped up to the plate and I agree with Warner, that it might take some action on our part to show them that their time is running out and actually mean it.
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If Dave Petraus recommended it, I might buy it. If John Warner did, I’m not.
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Sounds like a great idea. But does Maliki care if we leave? I fear that he is getting close with Iran and Syria as his back-up plan if the US pulls the plug from supporting his Government.
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So let me get this straight, We increase the number of troops with the surge, and we see quantifiable good results. And now you support withdrawal, even partially before e have regained stability. What message would we be sending? It would look like we could not make up our mind. What incentive does that send to the Iraqi government?
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James and Michael,
This might not be the best solution, but it’s something solid that sends the message that we aren’t there forever. We’re in a terrible spot because we’ve said we can’t leave Iraq until it becomes stable, but the government has proven totally inept in terms of doing anything to bring political stability. It speaks volumes that the parliament was going to take two months off, and even more that the Bush administration has bragged about talking it into taking only one month. Something has to give. Do you have a better solution for getting the Iraqi government to step up?
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The Iraqis just do not get it. We have gain some control of the security problem and they refuse to solve their political problems. We should not expect them to solve them right away, but they are not solving any of them.