Bush faces political clash over war plan (April is new Sept)

[rodeodance]

Source: ap



Bush faces political clash over war plan

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer 6 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - April may become the new September when it comes to deciding whether to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq, if President Bush's senior advisers have their way. But Congress might not stand for it.

Since Bush ordered the deployment of some 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq in January, he urged Congress to give the new plan until at least September to work. Accordingly, this month became a deadline among lawmakers for substantial progress, including several Republicans who said they were wary of Bush's military strategy but agreed for the most part to bite their tongues until then.

Now, administration officials are recommending Bush stand by his war strategy until the spring, and Bush is considered unlikely to order more than a symbolic cut in troops before the end of the year. Officials familiar with the assessment spoke on condition of anonymity to describe decisions not yet publicly released.

The suggestion is a bold one, considering Republicans lost control of Congress last year because of voter dissatisfaction on the war and polls show Americans overwhelmingly oppose the war.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070905/ap_on_go_co/us_iraq;_ylt=ApryxmMr5FwxW5xSmfQLTUms0NUE

[rodeodance]

1. The letter, signed by six Republicans and five Democrats, many of them political moderates,

....After a month at home with constituents, nearly a dozen members of the House issued a call Tuesday for bipartisan cooperation in Congress to stabilize Iraq and "bring our troops home" after more than four years of war.

The letter, signed by six Republicans and five Democrats, many of them political moderates, contained no specific timeline for withdrawing U.S. forces and took no position on earlier calls to limit future funds for the war.

Instead, it urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, to "work together to put an end to the political infighting" that has marked congressional debate on the conflict thus far.........

[DeepModem Mom]

2. April becomes September, and on and on... nt

[bemildred]

3. Gee, who could have predicted this? nt

[paparush]

4. Dominoes...those dates will continue to fall like dominoes...

[donkeyotay]

5. April is off the table. September is on.

That's another 8 months and a lot of deaths, for what? Supposedly the Iraqi Parliament is going to sign the oil law, so Mission Accomplished.