GOP Senators: Change Course On Iraq Now

Several Republicans Say They Don’t Want To Wait Until September

(CBS/AP)  Several Republican senators told President Bush's top national security aide privately Wednesday that they did not want Mr. Bush to wait until September to change course in Iraq.

The meeting that lawmakers had with national security adviser Stephen Hadley came as GOP Sens. Olympia Snowe and Chuck Hagel announced they would back Democratic legislation ordering combat to end next spring.

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports exclusively that a U.S. pullout would be extremely complicated, dangerous and would take two years if the military takes all its equipment out, according to a study recently presented to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Republican support for the war has steadily eroded in recent weeks as the White House prepared an interim progress report that found that the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad has made little progress in meeting major targets of reform.

Of the GOP lawmakers who say the U.S. should reduce its military role in Iraq, nearly all are up for re-election in 2008.

"I'm hopeful they (the White House) change their minds," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.

Domenici and at least five other Republicans support a bill by Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., that would adopt as U.S. policy the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group Report.

The bipartisan panel, led by Republican James A. Baker III and Democrat Lee Hamilton, said the U.S. should hand off the combat mission to the Iraqis, bolster diplomatic efforts in the region and pave the way for a drawdown of troops by spring 2008.

Domenici, who is expected to face voters next year, said he and other co-sponsors told Hadley the president shouldn't wait until September to adopt the bipartisan policy.

"The only difference of opinion at the moment is the president wants to deal with the Baker-Hamilton recommendations in September," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., one of the first GOP co-sponsors.

"I think he should do that today because it develops a long-term strategy for what happens in the surge," added Alexander, who also is up for re-election. "It would put him and Congress on the same path, which is what we definitely need."

Members said Hadley did not indicate the White House would switch gears. Mr. Bush this week said he will not reconsider the military strategy in Iraq until Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. military commander there, delivers his progress report in September.

"He was not in a position to do anything other than say 'I hear you,'" Domenici said of Hadley.

Other Republicans at the meeting did not call for immediate change, but offered tepid support for the current policy.

Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota said he was seriously considering Salazar's legislation and remained gravely concerned about the lack of progress in Iraq.

"I'm still in the same place, and I don't think there were any hearts or minds changed in there," Coleman said upon leaving the meeting.

Sen. John Warner, R-Va., who also attended the meeting, is expected to call for a change in Iraq policy after Mr. Bush releases on Thursday that interim report on Baghdad's political progress.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a staunch supporter of Mr. Bush's Iraq policies, said he and many others would stick behind the president. But "obviously everyone was concerned, and we're trying to figure out what the answer is," he said.

GOP support has become crucial as the Senate opened debate on a $649 billion defense policy bill.

Meanwhile, CBS News correspondent Bob Fuss reports seven Senate Republicans broke with the president Wednesday and voted with Democrats to consider an amendment by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., to require that troops returning from Iraq get more rest and training before being sent back.

But with Republican leaders using a filibuster to block any Iraq amendments, it would have taken 60 votes to move forward and they fell four votes short, 56-41.

The Senate is expected to vote next week on an amendment by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., that would order troop withdrawals to begin in 120 days and end all combat on April 30, 2008. The House plans to take up a similar measure on Thursday.

Levin's amendment is not expected to survive and Mr. Bush has vowed to veto it if it does. But in a signal of growing unease with the war, it has picked up at least one new vote from Snowe of Maine.

Snowe initially opposed setting a firm deadline, contending it would not make any sense to broadcast war plans to the enemy. But the senator, who is up for re-election next year, said she decided to switch her position because the situation has grown too dire.

"Frankly, given the fact that the Iraqi government isn't prepared to change its own political direction, we should be prepared to change course with respect to our strategy," Snowe told reporters Tuesday.

Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., also signed on as co-sponsors of the bill; both voted for a similar measure earlier this year.

Hadley's visit to Capitol Hill came as the White House finalized a 23-page progress report on Iraq that concludes the government in Baghdad has made little progress in meeting reform goals laid down by Mr. Bush and Congress.

The administration is likely to argue that some progress has been made in reducing the level of sectarian violence and militia control. Iraq also has established several, but not all, of the needed joint neighborhood security stations in Baghdad and has increased the number of capable Iraqi security units.

But the report also is expected to concede that several major goals have not been met, including agreement on new Iraqi laws to allocate oil and gas resources and revenue and to address amnesty for former Baath Party members. White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the report will indicate whether there has been "progress at a satisfactory rate, or unsatisfactory rate, and in some cases, maybe mixed results on some of those benchmarks."

[amazedd]

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see
Que Sera, Sera
-- The Mgmt.

[forthepeopl1]

the greatest terror group in the world!!!

the bush adminastration!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the minuteman are ready and waitting for orders

[micma-2009]

Looks like the rats a jumping from the sinking ship.

And the band plays on...stay the cours...stay the course...stay the..........................

[lars008-2009]

name one fascist nazi terrorislam state that grants equal rights to non muslims???

[tnichlsn]

I hope the people of Maine are taking note that their junior senator is still supporting this mess in Iraq as well as these incompetents currently residing in the White House. It's time to send her off to a permanent vacation like the people of Rhode Island did Chaffey and the people of Connecticut should have done Lieberman.

[mcvet]

The REAL Republican's that are left out there had better take back their party from these Southern Fascist and they had better do it soon. As it stands right now the ONLY people who can be re-elected is Southern Fascist and even they are growing weeker by the minute. Fascism, according to my father who was a NEW Deal Liberal, is nothing but a glorified Bully. Now who does not enjoy watching a bully fall. This is the case of Bush and his failed policies. He acted like a bully, treated all our friends like a bully and now the citizens of this planet we live on wouldn't give a hoot if someone were to blow up the Klan Man. I really don't have a problem with that except some very good people will suffer.

[mcvet]

U.S. Report: Al Qaeda Has Strengthened?

Yea, they picked up the Democat Party!

This is news?

Posted by hillaryin08 at 11:18 PM

hillary! You tired old nazi, where the H-e-ll have you been? I see you still can't grasp the failures of your fuhrer, so I take it you didn't spend the time outside the Reich Propaganda Ministry. Shame! Sieg Heil Bush

[tuckerndfw]

In '03 the majority backed the invasion. Now they do not.

Posted by pianoman42 at 05:23 AM : Jul 12, 2007

You don't suppose that could be related to all the lies told by the Bush administration, do you?

"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."

Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

Especially when you have a complicit corporate controlled media repeating those lies without challenge.

And, I agree with Brian.

If Americans are stupid enough to fall for any more of Bozo's lies, or the corporate media's lies, we deserve to be overrun by "terrorists" due to our stupidity and inability to self-govern.

[brianbwb-2009]

"In '03 the majority backed the invasion."

That is because they didn't realize Bush was lying through his teeth.

If they fall for another contrived "attack" to go back there, they are even dumber than Bush...

[pianoman42]

In '03 the majority backed the invasion. Now they do not. If the backoff goes wrong the majority will change its mind again. Democracy ist wunderbar nicht.

[ramos937]

As a Democrat, I really believe that Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, stance of the Iraq War plus his stance on illegal immigration virtually defeats his reelection bid in 2008. Most of Texas, like the USA opposes the war and the Hispanc electorate pasasionally believes in comprehensive immigation that provides a path to citizenship. So his chances are dramatically reduced for reelection.

As an American, I worry that we can become a one party system. Remember, power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely.

[tuckerndfw]

From the BBC (a real news outlet):

(if US forces are withdrawn) "For Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, the danger is that he would be left in the lurch, with a weak government and inadequate security forces."

Source:

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6288420.stm

Translation:

Malaki would have to get a real job and try to live in the mess he and his cronies made while they dickered around pretending to be a "government."

Of course, given the likelihood he and his cronies stole those billions of "missing" US tax dollars wasted in Iraq, he and his cronies have probably already bought multi-million dollar estates on the Riviera, or in South America.

George Bush and Cheney should be impeached and indicted for war crimes, conspiracy to commit murder, fraud and numerous other offenses related to the (idiotic) "war on terror."

[smirk5]

George Bush and the GOP:

Pride wins versus country

It would be amusing to watch the GOP split over this if it weren't for the fact that our troops continuing to die unnecessarily for a failed policy.

[zootallures2]

Legislation ordering combat to end next spring.

Next spring? Don't you seem a bit over confident that anyone will even aknowledge you are even a government by then? Bush's state of the union viewers will be his mommy and daddy. Lifestyles of the rich and ignored. I can see a future of yawl hanging around on city streets with the bumbs yelling "please look at my watch! It's a Rolex! A Rolex! I'm rich and important! What is wrong with you people!"

[brianbwb-2009]

I an curious as to what these "Republican" senators will do when Bush tells them to "fokov", as he has repeatedly told "Democrats", and the rest of the American people, as well as to the rest of the world...

[harp1963]

NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER VOTE REPUBLICAN AGAIN!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/09/60minutes/main592330.shtml

Three of our last four President have been Communists, I mean Republicans, and the single income middle class is gone. They swindle people at election time by convulsing and "Praising the Lord," but their "works" scream "LOVERS OF MONEY." If the Republicans are the moral party, than I'm Elvis Presley.

You've got people with Masters Degrees working at Go Mart for minimum wage. These Communists, I mean Republicans, have been raised in families that for generations have believed in the Plantation Owner Economy, where everyone works for peanuts while a very small percentage have any financil breathing room.

NEVER VOTE REPUBLICAN AGAIN

[tbweb]

Amazedd wrote:

I wish life was like in them movies.

Posted by Amazedd at 12:00 AM : Jul 12, 2007,,,

In some ways life is like the movies, World Leaders are like Movie Directors in many ways because they have the power and their nations resources to create certain realities. In that context they have the power to create any type of movie they want. This current crop of World Leaders only seem to be interested in creating Horror Movies and Bloody Nasty Horror Movies at that!! Earth not only needs a set of new positive Scripts, it needs to replace many of its Horror Movie Directors too! This alone is what makes Al Gore attractive, Earth needs boring, with all the blood letting, boring looks good!

[firststate]

As blatantly self-serving as these Senators' changes of heart are, they are proof that our system is starting to work, again. These Senators are starting to do their jobs, representing the citizens of the US and working for them not the white house.

Waiting for September means a few hundred more American lives lost to allow bush to save face, 3,610 should be enough. There's no reason to believe that the Iraqi government, that has met ZERO of the 100 or so benchmarks and whose security forces now independently control ZERO percent of the country, are suddenly going to do in 2 months what they haven't done in over 2 years.

[drummer94]

donnie, donnie. Slow down dude. You will work "yer"self to a frazzel. (That means- oh well)

[drummer94]

Anybody see the "news"conference tonite w/ Snow? I was out fishin' and caught part. Never heard so many ah's and um's. Lonny-toon and his minions are really reaching. Letter to the office of president- "It's over". As a wise man once said- " It's not a lie if you believe it"