by David Lightman of the Hartford Courant
Sen. Christopher J. Dodd today proposed moving 50,000 American troops out of Iraq by the end of this year and redeploying another 40,000 by April, 2008, a tougher stance than most Senate Democrats have endorsed.
But it’s likely that the Connecticut Democrat’s plan, which he outlined in a Senate floor speech this morning, will not be subject to a vote, for parliamentary reasons. A group of Republicans, as well as Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats, is fighting hard to block efforts to set any kind of timelines.
As soon as Dodd finished speaking, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., gave his own lengthy account of the progress he saw in Iraq, and how timelines would be disastrous. “No lasting political settlement can grow out of a U. S. withdrawal,” McCain said.
Dodd’s plan puts the 2008 presidential candidate a lap ahead of many Senate rivals in proposing a more aggressive approach to ending the war.
Even Dodd was not optimistic about the chances of his or any other amendment with timelines having much success in a Senate where 60 votes are needed to cut off an opponents filibuster.
“I predict the day will come when Congress will have the courage to say enough is enough,” Dodd told the Senate today, “but sadly it won’t be before more American lives are lost or wanton destruction occurs in the beleaguered nation of Iraq.”
Nevertheless, the plan was to be debated throughout the day–and probably throughout the night, as the Senate planned an all-night session. Dodd’s proposal would set an interim deadline for withdrawing 50,000 troops by Dec. 31, 2007. If that goal was not met, 25 percent of the 2008 military budget for related activities would be withheld until President Bush certified that he can meet the ultimate April 2008 deadline.
By April, another 40,000 troops would have to be redeployed, leaving about 70,000 troops with three non-combat missions: Conducting counterterrorism operations in Iraq, training and equipping Iraqi forces and providing protection for infrastructure. The money saved from the pullback would be used for other military missions, notably bolstering the National Guard.
Guard units–including those in Connecticut–have complained for years to Congress and the White House that they are badly in need of new or improved equipment, since much of their equipment has been left in Iraq. In Connecticut alone, Dodd said, the Guard has reported shortages of about 200 Humvees, 21 large support vehicles and more than 1,500 night vehicle devices. The shortages, he said, “mean we are short of equipment to respond to natural or man-made disasters here at home.”
