BREAKING: CNN now reporting "bombshell" Iraq defection by Senator John Warner (link)

[DeepModem Mom]

Wolf Blitzer says Warner says Bush should announce start of withdrawal from Iraq next month. Warner wants some troops home by Christmas.

Wolf says this is a very significant defection from a very influential Senator.

*

LINK NOW:

CNN: Sen. Warner: Start bringing troops home by Christmas

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The influential former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee has called on President Bush to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq by Christmas. Sen. John Warner, a Virginia Republican, said Thursday that a pullout was needed to spur Iraqi leaders to action. He has recommended that Bush announce the beginning of a U.S. withdrawal in mid-September, after a report is released from the top U.S. officials in Iraq, and that those troops should be back in the U.S. by Christmas. "In my humble judgment, that would get everyone's attention that is not being paid at this time," said Warner.

Warner opposed Bush's January decision to send nearly 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq. But he has so far also opposed Democratic efforts to force Bush to start bringing U.S. troops home.

The U.S. intelligence community's latest report on Iraq, released Thursday, found "measurable but uneven improvements" in security in recent months. However, it concluded that Iraq's political leaders "remain unable to govern effectively."

"I really, firmly believe the Iraqi government, under the leadership of Prime Minister al-Maliki, let our troops down," Warner said.

Warner is one of the most respected voices in the Senate on military and national security issues. Besides being a former Armed Services chairman, Warner was a Secretary of the Navy in the 1970s. He served in the Navy in World War II and in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. He has served in the Senate for five consecutive terms....

***

Warner met at the White House earlier Thursday with Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, the White House official responsible for coordinating Iraq issues. Warner said the president and other leading Bush administration officials have repeatedly said the American commitment to Iraq was not open-ended. "The time has come to put some meaningful teeth into those comments -- to back them up with some clear, decisive action," the senator said.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/23/warner.iraq/index.html

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

1. Holding Breath.....

Nah......If I did that, I'd be dead soon enough.

King george will say, "Meh. I've Got A Mandate Still."

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Indeed -- his mandate, I believe he thinks, is from Above. nt

[Jackpine Radical]

4. What he's got outranks a mandate.

It's a Goddate.

[DeepModem Mom]

10. Very good, JR! nt

[liberaldemocrat7]

26. Hmmmph, Warner said withdraw 5,000 troops.

Yes while they put in 10,000 troops through the back door. This of course will happen a few weeks before an election.

I do not find this impressive.

[IDemo]

21. You should copyright that, Brother n/t

[AlCzervik]

3. i watched Warner on cspan, hopefully he's opinion will carry some weight.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. Thanks for that confirmation, chimpsrsmarter! This is pretty big, I think, just a day after...

Bush's bizarre Iraq/Vietnam speech.

[AlCzervik]

9. yw and i bet cspan will rerun a few times today, i saw it on regular cspan

and Warner was actually having a press conference. what i see and maybe i'm way off base but it would appear the whole "We'll leave when the Iraqi government asks us to" might start happening, like Iraq is going to start holding open the door and handing us our coats.

[kimmerspixelated]

42. I think they may withdraw alright!

Take a coupla steps forward , face east, and get on the IRAN wagon! That's where the troops are headed!

[rodeodance]

8. did Warner say this at his pressie?

[AlCzervik]

11. A time line needs to be set like now and that the troop draw down needs to begin.

he thinks the iraqi government sucks (my words-obviously) and he thinks that the Iraq borders can be shored up with our equipment.

[rodeodance]

19. thanks

[rox63]

6. This explains the "Freedom Watch" ad campaign

Warner's considered a senior statesman on military matters. This will carry some weight among the more reasonable rethugs. Hopefully enough weight to overrride a veto.

[DeepModem Mom]

12. You're right -- this is not only in the face of the bizarrro Nam speech, but Ari's ads. nt

[KoKo]

20. They could just be screwing with our minds, too.

:shrug:

[DeepModem Mom]

36. Always a possibility! nt

[kimmerspixelated]

41. Zippity-Doo-Dah!

[Warpy]

39. I was wondering why the blitz

and thought it might have something to do with the noises Domenici (R-fo$$il) was making about rethinking Stupid's play toy, the war.

Whatever is behind it, it is uncommonly well financed.

Somebody needs to follow the money very quickly.

On reedit: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Freedom's_Watch is a good place to start. Oddly, Ron Paul has an organization with the same name, making his position on the war look strange, to say the least. It's at http://www.house.gov/paul/fwu/welcome.htm

[rodeodance]

7. I wil believe it when I hear it.--------this same guy bomshelled -then caved last spring

[kenny blankenship]

13. This could be another "Spectral" Bombshell

Like when Arlen Specter appears to be on the verge of demonstrating a principled adherence to Constitutional government, giving hope to millions, and then turns around and votes to let Bush do just as he pleases.

[AlCzervik]

16. i think Warner has more guts than Arlen and i don't think he's running again

so i think thats why he's speaking up. IMO they should all vote and speak like they are not running again.

[kenny blankenship]

31. Let's hope so. Let's hope he means it.

(Speakin just for myself, I'm not even sure I know how to do that anymore)

[AlCzervik]

33. i know exactly what you mean, i'm not getting my hopes up and i expect nothing

at this point you cannot believe anything except your lying eyes.

[KoKo]

17. Agree....we've been led down this path too many times by Warner/Specter

Something's afoot. Probably a terrorist attack here or something in Israel. Just to get everything started. Sheesh. They really think folks are stupid don't they?

[Disturbed]

23. Draw down is the plan now.

The majority of Repugs & Dems support the US Occupation of Iraq for an indefinite time frame ; that includes Sen. Clinton. . There are various reasons for this. You can speculate as to those reasons. The US Occupation will continue & the Dems will keep funding it. There will be a draw down but at least 60K US Troops & 140K Mercs will remain in Iraq. US presence in Iraq will continue for decades.

[DeepModem Mom]

14. He has indeed disappointed in the past. I wish he could stand up and be a Fulbright. nt

[nealmhughes]

43. Indeed, every time I hear him on C-Span on the floor and seem to be the voice of gravitas and reason

-- someone to whom both parties would at least listen and pay attention to -- it turns out to be a nonevent in the end. Can senior Republican senators get no respect from their committees' ranking members and administration?

I keep hoping that he and Senator Byrd with Rockefeller, and a few of the other old school senators will head to the White House and have a one-sided discussion with George Dubya. . .but they don't.

[Bitwit1234]

15. Don't you'all remember

He said once before we should set a with drawal date for Iraq..the bill came up to be voted on and guess what he caved to bush and voted against it.

[DeepModem Mom]

18. I do remember. We'll see. nt

[rodeodance]

22. yup

[SoCalDem]

24. Watch how the republicans claim the withdrawal as "theirs"

Amazing isn't it?

Dems have a majority (slim as it is), and they sit back and wait for republicants to lead the way and grab the headlines..

instead of spending a month off, they should have stayed in DC (at least half of them) and claimed some TV time. It would have paid off in the end.

[spanone]

35. You bet they will. They will also claim that the dems could have defunded the war at anytime

and they didn't do it.

[Subdivisions]

25. And I just heard Barak Obama say that "...no matter who we

put in there in place of Maliki, there will still be difficulties..."

Why the fuck is Barak Obama talking about replacing the duly elected president of Iraq? Is he inferring a coup by the US?

[Tigermoose]

34. Check out www.juancole.com

For info on the rumored coup.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

27. I'm taking his words with a grain of salt

This could be his way of appearing to to give his voters what they want, until he sees the report saying the "surge" is working out better than he thought. Then he'll flip back to the other side...again.

[coco77]

28. I don't believe none of this shit..

they are playing games again, by the time the Betrayus/Bush assessement is displayed we will begin to really see what game they are playing now. I guess everyone is suppose to get excited everytime a old ass senator disagrees with asshole. Been there done that I don't believe nothing these people say and the Dems aren't worth a damn, and get rid of those damn blue dogs. By the way what is a yellow dog dem. They all seem yaller to me, scared of losing those seats...


I am tired of hearing it all. All of these people care more about their seats than the country, they think that we are pieces of a puzzles or pieces of a chess board they can move around as they please. I think we need to leave some of these posts on Du at every place we attend since these people aren't waking up to the destruction of this country. Copy paste and leave them in churches,synagouges, mosques,movie theaters,concerts,buses,grocery stores,etc.

I think this is the one way to wake up some people and the most frightening news stories should be posted all over cities,towns wherever... I am tired of hearing this shit. THis is more of stay the course with the smallest fraction of soldiers to redeploy. What is 5000 they just put in 30,000 they are playing the same game they have been playing for the past SIC years.

[AlCzervik]

29. link from Bloomberg news-

Warner Says U.S. Should Start Withdrawing Iraq Force (Update1)
By William Roberts

Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Virginia Senator John Warner said President George W. Bush should begin withdrawing troops from Iraq on Sept. 15 to show the Iraqi government that the U.S. commitment there isn't open-ended.

Bush should announce that ``we will start an orderly, carefully planned, thought-out redeployment,'' said Warner, 80, a Republican and former Navy secretary who three times chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The number of troops to be withdrawn and the timing would be up to the president, he said.

Warner's comments at a press conference in Washington are the first time he has called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. One of the most respected Republicans in the Senate on defense issues, he has grown increasingly critical of the war over the past year. His influence is such that many in his party may follow his lead, Senator Susan Collins of Maine said last month.

more at link
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ajeSMcAmQsE8&refer=home

[DeepModem Mom]

37. Thanks! nt

[spanone]

30. he's saying bu$h* should withdraw 5,000 by Christmas, announce in sept. bullshit

[PATRICK]

32. I think this is possibly

a DNC strategy to head off some token BS revolving door withdrawal that Bush just might do anyway. It helps frame a "reduction" sold as a political plus "withdrawal" in a way that this means the troops can all start coming home. But don't bet on the press allowing people to remember this frame at all.

When and how Bush sells his token moves for election purposes will be given his slant no matter what.

[tridim]

38. Does Blackwater get to stay? nt

[in_cog_ni_to]

40. The ONLY way the troops will come home is if the money stops. The psycho

doesn't care what John Warner wants or thinks. If Warner wants the troops to come home, he better start talking about ending the funding.

[roamer65]

44. * won't withdraw ANY troops.

In fact, watch the petulant little schoolkid "surge" even more.

[wicket]

45. K & R

:kick:

[European Socialist]

46. At least it puts a damper on on those pro-war commercials. The

repukes usually time their lies better than this, which makes me wonder what their up to.

[mike_c]

47. smoke and mirrors....

"...Some troops home by Christmas...." I want complete withdrawal of American forces by Christmas. Promising to reduce the war "just a little bit" by Christmas is just the key to continuing funding and congressional appeasement.

The war against Iraq is a crime against humanity. What part of WAR CRIMES IN OUR NAMES doesn't congress understand?