Why in the world is the Senate wasting their time with this issue again, they just voted on it and agreed it was in our best interest to remain in Iraq and only 6 Senators disagreed. Why waste their time with this again? We know that the Democrats want to cut and run, why do they want to continue to demonstrate that fact? Doesn't Congress have other things they could be doing, like cutting my taxes? Or lifting the ban on drilling off shore or in Alaska.
Fierce election-year debate on Iraq spilled over into a second week on Capitol Hill with Senate Democrats lining up behind a proposal to start U.S. troop withdrawals this year and Republicans chastising them for espousing a "cut-and-run" strategy.How does the Senate require the President to withdraw troops, they have no authority to do so, he is Commander and Chief. And forcing the US out of Iraq at a future time without knowing what will happen till then is a stupid way to execute a war.
"Let me be clear: Retreat is not a solution," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. "Cutting and running is bad policy that threatens our national security and poses unacceptable risks to Americans."
Sen. Carl Levin (news, bio, voting record), D-Mich., disputed Frist's characterization of the Democrats' nonbinding resolution on Iraq and stressed that it would not set a firm deadline by which all forces must be out of the war zone.
"The administration's policy to date, that we'll be there for as long as Iraq needs us, will result in Iraq's depending on us longer," said Levin, top-ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. "Three-and-a-half years into the conflict, we should tell the Iraqis that the American security blanket is not permanent."
[...]
In the end, Senate Democrats brushed aside calls by some of their rank-and-file for a firm withdrawal timetable and on Monday proposed the resolution that would urge — but not require — the administration to begin "a phased redeployment of U.S. forces" this year. It also would call for the administration to give Congress by year's end its plan for "continued redeployment" after 2006.
[...]
Three Democrats seeking a stronger position on Iraq — John Kerry of Massachusetts, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Barbara Boxer of California — intend to push for a vote on their own proposal.
It would require the administration to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq by July 1, 2007, leaving in place only U.S. troops essential to training Iraqi security forces, conducting counterterrorism operations and protecting U.S. personnel and facilities.
I think maybe the Senators should do there job and leave the running of the military to the one who is in charge of it and if they think they can do a better job than maybe they should run for president (again, in Kerry's case) in 2008.
