[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Anxiety over Iraq increases in Senate
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 12:44:02 +0100
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http://informasi-beasiswa.blogspot.com ** Anxiety over Iraq increases in
Senate
By Brian Knowlton International Herald Tribune
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2005
WASHINGTON The Republican-dominated Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday
to demand regular reports from the Bush administration on progress in the war
on Iraq, reflecting mounting bipartisan unease over an increasingly unpopular
conflict.
The Senate first rejected, 57-40, a Democratic amendment aimed at
securing an explicit timeline for a phased troop withdrawal, something that
Republicans said would hearten insurgents.
Many Democrats then shifted support to a softer Republican proposal that
dropped the timetable language but required quarterly reports to Congress on
subjects like progress in training Iraqi forces and enlisting foreign help in
stabilizing Iraq.
The Senate voted, 79-19, for a resolution saying 2006 "should be a period
of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty, with Iraqi security forces
taking the lead for the security of a free and sovereign Iraq, thereby creating
the conditions for the phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq."
The House has yet to take parallel action.
By a 98-to-0 vote, the Senate subsequently passed the larger defense
spending bill to which the amendments were attached.
The outcome was thus not the slap in the face of President George W. Bush
that the Democratic approach might have inflicted.
But some Democrats spoke of a turning point in congressional debate on
the war, particularly after another measure opposed by the administration - to
give Guantánamo terror detainees some rights to appeal their status before a
federal appeals court - passed easily, 84-14.
The votes, taken together, represented a clear signal of rising
discontent and limited patience at a time when Britain, Italy and other U.S.
allies in the Iraq coalition face sharp pressure to begin withdrawing soon.
Senator John Warner of Virginia, a sponsor of the Republican measure,
said that it was time to let Iraqis know "that we have stood with you, we have
done our part, now it's time for you" to take over and establish a secure,
democratic government.
Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the Democrat who sponsored the failed
amendment, supported the Republican alternative as "the second-best approach."
He added, "We need to have 2006 be a year of transition" in Iraq.
The political pressures over Iraq appear likely to swell next year, with
elections scheduled in the United States and Italy and with Iraq scheduled to
have a democratically elected Parliament.
Coalition leaders including Bush, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Prime
Minister John Howard of Australia have refused to set a date for withdrawal,
saying that it can occur only after conditions of stability have been achieved
in Iraq.
But Britain and Italy appear to be at least moving closer to the exit
door.
Blair said this week that it was "entirely reasonable" to suggest that
Britain could begin withdrawing its 8,500 troops by the end of 2006, if
progress in Iraq continues. He has faced resurgent criticism since a former
British ambassador to Washington, Christopher Meyer, said that Blair could have
slowed the U.S. march to war.
Italy has begun reducing its forces in Iraq, down recently from a high of
3,200 to 2,900, but their continuing presence is expected to be a political
weight on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as April 9 elections approach.
His chief opponent, the left-center politician Romano Prodi, said last
month that he would pull out Italian troops if he won. Other opposition leaders
followed suit, though they later said that any withdrawal would be gradual.
In the Senate, members of both parties have been increasingly eager that
Iraqis quickly take control of their country.
Several have criticized the pace of training Iraqi security forces, whose
numbers have risen but whose reliability under fire has at times been
questioned.
An underlying message of the votes Tuesday, Warner said, was, "We really
mean business, Iraqis: Get on with it."
Polls show that with the American death toll rising, support for the war
has steadily waned - even if a minority favors immediate withdrawal.
A new Gallup Poll found that 54 percent of Americans believe it was a
mistake to send troops to Iraq. Approval ratings for Bush were at the lowest in
the survey, 37 percent, with the war considered a prime cause.
Senators sought Tuesday to position themselves alongside the public.
Russell Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, said from the Senate floor: "The
absence of any kind of timetable is not fair to our troops and their families.
It's making the American people increasingly anxious. And it's hurting, not
helping, our Iraq policy and our broader national security strategy."
Democrats have complained that the administration has failed to outline a
plan and said the new measure would improve accountability by calling for
regular reports from the administration on "the current military mission and
the diplomatic, political, economic and military measures, if any, that are
being or have been undertaken to successfully complete or support that
mission."
The administration has insisted that a firm deadline would encourage
insurgents and that withdrawal must be conditioned on events, not the calendar.
Carl Hulse of The New York Times contributed reporting from Washington.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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