Pressure growing to plan Iraq exit
16 June, 2005
San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi, leader of the House's minority Democrats, raised the stakes on the debate over the war in Iraq on Tuesday by introducing a resolution that if enacted would set the stage for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.
Pelosi's proposal, which she offered as an amendment to the $428 billion military appropriations bill, would direct that within 30 days of the legislation's adoption, President Bush "report on a strategy for success in Iraq.'' The House is expected to take up the bill Thursday.
The report required by Pelosi's proposal would cover the capabilities of Iraqi military forces, their numbers, how prepared they are to take over from Americans, how many U.S. forces would have to stay in Iraq to help them, and what political progress is being made in the country.
"This lays the groundwork for bringing our troops home and doing it in a realistic way about what the consequences are for bringing those troops home, '' Pelosi said in an interview Tuesday.
On the Senate side, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said Tuesday night that she will co-sponsor a similar resolution in the Senate introduced by Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis.
The House has already voted down resolutions offered by Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, and others that would direct Bush to start planning the withdrawal of the approximately 140,000 U.S. forces in Iraq. But Pelosi's proposal represents an intermediate step and by virtue of her leadership role raises the issue's profile in Washington.
Her proposal comes as new polls show the American public voicing increased dissatisfaction with the course of the two-year-old war in Iraq, which has claimed at least 1,706 American military lives. The latest Gallup poll found that 59 percent of those surveyed said some or all U.S. forces should be withdrawn. That's a 10-point increase from a February poll.
"From the start, I've thought this war was a grotesque mistake,'' said Pelosi, who voted against the autumn 2002 resolution authorizing Bush to launch military operations against Saddam Hussein's regime. "The question now is about the execution of the war. It's hard for anyone to argue that the war meets the standard of a strategy for success.''
Democrats won't know until today if the Republican-controlled House Rules Committee will allow Pelosi's amendment to reach the floor. But even if the proposal is barred, Pelosi plans to force a vote on it as part of the floor debate on the rules for handling the defense spending bill.
"It's time for the House to go on record about this,'' she said.
Boxer said she doesn't believe White House assurances of progress in Iraq. "It is time that the administration is forced to step up to the plate with a plan for Iraq. It is time that we know what our mission is and how we will accomplish it,'' Boxer said.
The White House and the Pentagon continue to resist any proposal that could lead to spelling out a timetable for withdrawal.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Monday, "We will leave when we complete the mission. We are not going to stay a day longer than what is necessary. But what we're working to achieve in Iraq is vital to peace and security for generations to come.''
And at a Pentagon news conference Tuesday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Peter Pace said he opposed a timetable for troop movements.
"It will be event driven, not time line driven, and to put any kind of a time line on it really is not a smart way to approach it,'' said the Marine general.
Woolsey said she supports Pelosi's proposal, even though it represents a step back from her defeated bill. "We're about going to the next step and keeping up with the American people,'' she said. In May, Woolsey's proposal was defeated in the House, 300-128.
On Sunday, Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., who was one of five Republicans to vote for Woolsey's proposal, said he was drafting a bill calling for withdrawal from Iraq. He is working on the legislation with several Democrats, including Woolsey and Rep. Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii.
Their bill reportedly calls for Bush to spell out a withdrawal plan this year and to start bringing U.S. forces home in large numbers early next year.
At the Pentagon, Pace said about 200,000 Iraqi security forces have been trained and are starting to take over from American and other international coalition forces in small parts of the country. He said that in May 2004 there was only one Iraqi army battalion fit for combat. Today there are "over 100 battalions, not all of which are fully capable of independent operations right now,'' he said.
"This progress is very good,'' Pace added.
Appearing with Pace, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Iraq is making delicate political progress, with the help of U.S. forces. The interim government, hammered together after elections in January, is still trying to ensure participation by minority Sunnis, who held the reins of power under Hussein.
A constitutional assembly is supposed to present a draft constitution, which the Iraqi people are to vote on by the end of this year.
"They'll have a chance to vote on that in December. This is amazing. This is historic. This is a gigantic step forward,'' Rumsfeld said.
Pelosi, who visited Iraq in late March and reported that she wasn't satisfied with the levels of training for Iraqi forces that she observed, said that if the estimate of 200,000 trained Iraqis is true, it's even more reason to start considering a withdrawal. "The administration should tell the American people why it's necessary for us to be there, unless those Iraqis are not trained adequately,'' she said.
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