'Exit Strategy' Is More Than a Whisper in Washington, With Lawmakers

[sabra]

<<SNIP>>
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/16/politics/16exit.html

'Exit Strategy' Is More Than a Whisper in Washington, With Lawmakers Speaking Out

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: June 16, 2005

WASHINGTON, June 15 - Celeste Zappala, whose son died in Iraq, visited Capitol Hill on Wednesday to demand "a very quick exit strategy." Her timing was perfect.

With opinion polls showing a drop in support for the war, and a British memo asserting that the Bush administration had intended to go to war as early as the summer of 2002, the words "exit strategy" are being uttered by both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill.

The flurry began over the weekend, when Representative Walter B. Jones of North Carolina, a conservative Republican, called for the Bush administration to set specific goals for leaving Iraq. That came from the man who was once so upset about French opposition to the war that he insisted that House cafeterias change the name "French fries" to "freedom fries."

But it does not end there.

Senator Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, has introduced in the Senate a measure similar to the nonbinding resolution that Mr. Jones is offering. In the House, the International Relations Committee last week voted overwhelmingly, 32 to 9, to call on the White House to develop and submit a plan to Congress for establishing a stable government and military in Iraq that would "permit a decreased U.S. presence" there.

On Thursday, Representative John Conyers Jr., a Michigan Democrat, will convene a forum on the so-called Downing Street Memo, a leaked document that appeared to suggest the White House had made a decision to go to war in the summer of 2002. Next week, Representative Rahm Emanuel, an Illinois Democrat, is planning to read on the House floor the names of approximately 1,700 Americans who have died in the war.

<</SNIP>>

[stepnw1f]

1. Sorry... That Won't Be Enough Until

The Bush Administration is held responsible.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

2. "The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step."

Let the journey begin.

http://www.house.gov/emanuel/



"Congressman Emanuel with Sol Schatz of the VFW, Thomas Lonze of the State of Illinois, James O’Rourke of the American Legion and Senator Durbin discussing the Welcome Home GI Bill."

Rahm Emanuel was sworn in for his second term on January 4, 2005, as the U.S. Representative from Illinois’ 5th Congressional District, which covers the Northwest Side of Chicago and parts of suburban Cook County.

He serves on the Committee on Ways and Means. He also serves as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

During the 108th Congress, Emanuel served on the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on the Budget. He was chosen by his fellow Democratic freshmen as Democratic Whip for their class, and served as a Vice Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Emanuel served as a top White House advisor to President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1998, first as Assistant to the President for Political Affairs and then as Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Strategy. He was a leading strategist in the successful White House efforts to extend health insurance to millions of uninsured children; pass the Brady Act; enact the historic 1994 crime bill, which put 100,000 new police officers on the street; secure passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement and other trade measures; reform welfare; raise the minimum wage; and balance the federal budget.

Emanuel began his career with the consumer rights organization Illinois Public Action. He went on to serve in a number of capacities in local and national politics, including Paul Simon’s 1984 election to the U.S. Senate, national campaign director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 1988, and senior advisor and chief fundraiser for Richard M. Daley’s victorious campaign for mayor of Chicago in 1989. He served as Director of Finance in the 1992 Presidential campaign of then-Governor Bill Clinton.

From 1999 to 2002, Emanuel served as managing director of the investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein in Chicago.

Emanuel was born November 29, 1959, in Chicago. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1981 and received a Master's Degree in Speech and Communication from Northwestern University in 1985.
Residents of Chicago, Emanuel and his wife Amy have three children.

:toast:

[highnooner]

3. The fact that Jones is asking for an Exit Strategy is telling.

He represents one of the most military-friendly districts in the nation. Things are a-changing.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

4. I bet Jones is getting an earful from from his military constituents.

[Lexingtonian]

13. sure he is

Three quarters telling him he's right, one quarter telling him he's a traitor and defeatist.

[struggle4progress]

12. Maybe he's just making cover for Rs in the Fall 06 election season.

Nixon did that for the Fall 72 election: "O looky looky! We's a-leavin VietNam. Thanks to President Dicky we's a-leavin VietNam. O thank you President Dicky! Be sure to vote in November."

[Triana]

14. What's damn despicable about this is...

..a damned EXIT STRATEGY should have been devised BEFORE WE EVER WENT IN THERE! Now, it's going to be thrice as hard.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr that beady-eyed little (W)easel is an idiot! :mad:

edit: of course we had no business going over there in the first place...

[LibDemAlways]

5. Haven't these people been told that

we are building permanent bases in Iraq? The BFEE is putting down roots. They don't give a shit how many people are killed. If there's oil to be had and a cash cow to be milked, they're in it for the long haul.

[truthpusher]

6. Rep. Jones co-sponsors (nonbinding) resolution on Iraq withdrawal

http://www.heraldsun.com/state/6-617616.html

Rep. Jones co-sponsors resolution on Iraq withdrawal
-------------------------
Jun 15, 2005 : 10:08 pm ET
-------------------------
RALEIGH, N.C. -- U.S. Rep. Walter Jones co-sponsored a nonbinding resolution Wednesday that he said allows President Bush to plan for reducing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq.

The Republican congressman said the resolution does not set a firm date for withdrawal, but instead allows the president to make plans for that eventuality.

"This approach would given the president the flexibility he needs to reduce our presence in a way that protects U.S. troops and allows Iraqis to pick up the fight," Jones said in a news release. "No one is talking about 'cutting and running.'"

(snip)

"When I look at the number of men and women who have been killed -- it's almost 1,700 now, in addition to close to 12,000 have been severely wounded -- and I just feel that the reason of going in for weapons of mass destruction, the ability of the Iraqis to make a nuclear weapon, that's all been proven that it was never there," Jones said on the show.

complete story: http://www.heraldsun.com/state/6-617616.html

[shadowknows69]

7. Past 1700, BTW, Walt.

n/t

[BattyDem]

8. The idiot doesn't even know how many we lost!

That is so wrong! :grr:

[Glenda]

9. Pressure growing to plan Iraq exit

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/06/16/pressure_growing_to_plan_iraq_exit/

Pressure growing to plan Iraq exit
Bipartisan group pushes resolution
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff | June 16, 2005

...

Today, a small, bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by a Republican who supported the war, plans to introduce a resolution calling for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq beginning in October 2006. The effort follows a bid by Democrats to require the Bush administration to draw up, within 30 days, an exit plan. The Democrats' bill was swept aside in committee and is unlikely to reach the House floor for a vote.

...
With polls indicating that public support for the war has dwindled, more lawmakers who supported the use of force in Iraq are openly voicing their concerns about the lack of a clear, publicly stated plan to set limits on the US presence there. Last week, the House International Relations Committee voted 32-9 to call on Bush to develop a strategy to leave Iraq. The White House rejects the idea, believing such a policy would only encourage the Iraqi insurgency.

The political maneuvers are being made amid continuing violence in Iraq and the recent controversy over a British government memo that called into question the Bush administration's motives for going to war. Some prominent Republicans seem worried that if Republicans vote for the bipartisan bill in substantial numbers -- even if, in the end, the bill is defeated -- it would be embarrassing for the administration and would undermine Bush's authority.

...
Meanwhile, in the Senate, Russell D. Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, is signing up cosponsors for a resolution demanding that Bush produce a timetable for reaching his goals in Iraq -- and for withdrawing troops thereafter. Feingold quickly received the support of Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California

...

''The Republican leadership is biting their fingernails off over this," McGovern said. ''This Congress has been negligent with regard to its duty on Iraq. We didn't ask the right questions before the war. Now, no one is being held accountable."

...

''Nobody would have voted for this resolution" if they had known then what they do now, said. ''There's a growing recognition that things have gone terribly wrong in Iraq, and the acknowledgement that the administration does not have a handle on the future of Iraq, or of America's role in Iraq."

[Felix Mala]

10. 50 Years, several trillion dollars... Oops, maybe * shoulda let

us know in 2003!

[maddezmom]

11. AP: Lawmakers Push Resolution on Iraq Pullout

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer
18 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - President Bush would have to start bringing home U.S. troops from Iraq by Oct. 1, 2006, under a measure a small bipartisan group of House lawmakers — including a Republican who voted for war — proposed Thursday.

Two Republicans and two Democrats introduced a resolution that would require the president to announce by the end of this year a plan for withdrawing troops and steps for following through on that plan.

It is the first such resolution put forth by lawmakers from both parties, although an overwhelming number of Democrats and six House Republicans voted in 2002 against sending troops to Iraq.

The Bush administration has insisted that a timetable for withdrawal can't be considered until Iraq's security forces are strong enough to protect their country from insurgents.

While many Democrats and some Republicans repeatedly have voted against continued funding for the war, there has been no concerted joint effort before to bring troops home.

~snip~
more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050616/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq_resolution;_