6-19-05, 9:36 am
From Council for a Livable World
On June 16, Representatives Abercrombie (D-HI) and Jones (R-NC) introduced a resolution calling for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq called 'Homeward Bound.' This resolution provides clear evidence that political opposition to the war in Iraq is mounting and the reluctance of Members of Congress to challenge the war is eroding. It has taken more than two years since the start of fighting in March 2003 for this opposition to develop in Congress.
Significantly, this opposition is bipartisan.
Several factors have contributed to the growth of discontent with the war: the rising insurgency, which flies in the face of optimistic talk from the Bush Administration, American casualties which have topped 1,700 dead and 12,000 wounded, a cost topping $200 billion and declining public support for the war.
Up to this point, Republicans have overwhelmingly supported the President on the war. While some GOP rank-and-file may have been privately reluctant to embrace the expansive neo-conservative goals in Iraq and elsewhere, they have been loath to break with the President.
Democrats, even those who voted against the use of force in Iraq in October 2002, have been slow to endorse withdrawal. Many Democrats accept the Pottery Barn rule: 'we broke it, we own it.' Other Democrats feel that the public’s perception that Democrats are 'weak on national security issues' hurt Sen. John Kerry in 2004 and continues to damage the Democratic Party. Democrats fear being accused of undermining troops in Iraq.
Administration views: Everything is rosy
The Administration continues to see the war through rose colored glasses, and is losing credibility on the war by the day.
Most recently, on May 30 Vice President Cheney said: 'I think the level of activity that we see today in Iraq from a military standpoint, I think will clearly decline. I think they’re in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency.' Over 30 American soldiers had been killed in Iraq in the week preceding Cheney’s comments.
The White House continues to report great progress in training Iraqi forces to combat the insurgency. President Bush said at an April 28 press conference: 'Recruitment is high. It’s amazing, isn’t it, that people want to serve, they want their country to be free.'
These claims are too much even for Pennsylvania Republican Curt Weldon who recently returned from a visit to Iraq. On the June 12 broadcast of NBC’s Meet the Press, Weldon stated that: 'We can’t come back to America and have our people being convinced that the Iraqi troops are prepared to take over when they’re not. That’s only going to cause our people back home to say, ‘Bring them home now.’'
Other Republicans are speaking out
Most noteworthy, conservative North Carolina Republican Walter Jones has joined with Hawaii Representative Neil Abercrombie and other Representatives to introduce a resolution that urges withdrawal from Iraq to begin no later than October 1, 2006. Jones told the Boston Globe of June 16: ‘‘The American people are getting to a point here: How much more can we take?' Jones was one of five Republicans to vote for an amendment on withdrawing from Iraq introduced by California Democrat Lynn Woolsey to the Supplemental Appropriations bill. Significantly, Jones had been a strong supporter of the war and gained notoriety for renaming french fries 'freedom fries.'
North Carolina Republican Howard Coble, added in a June 16 New York Times interview 'I’m not suggesting pulling out tomorrow or next month, but I want that to be an option. I don’t want us to spend an eternity in Iraq. So conceptually, I’m inclined to embrace Walter Jones’s proposal.'
In the House International Relations Committee, an amendment offered by New York Democrat Joseph Crowley calling on the White House to submit a plan to Congress for establishing a stable government and military in Iraq that would 'permit a decreased U.S. presence' won the support of nine Republicans, including Chairman Henry Hyde, Republican from Illinois.
According to a June 16 Wall Street Journal article, Florida Republican Senator Mel Martinez, who served as a Bush cabinet member during the first term, 'said he was ‘discouraged’ by the lack of progress and the inability of the Pentagon to draw down U.S. forces.'
Public support for the war drops
The increasing political opposition has been bolstered by rising public dissatisfaction with the war. A Washington Post poll released June 8 found that Americans disapprove Bush’s handling of the war by a 58% - 41% margin.
A Pew Center poll released June 13 further found that almost half of Americans, 46% to be exact, think that U.S. troops should come home as soon as possible regardless of whether the situation in Iraq has stabilized, an increase of 10% from October.
Legislators are looking for a way out
The first significant legislative breakthrough came on May 25 when California Democratic Representative Lynn Woolsey offered an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that asked President Bush to develop a plan as soon as practicable to withdraw American troops from Iraq. Though the amendment was defeated 128 - 300, it drew majority support from Democrats, 122 - 79. It was many years into the Vietnam quagmire before a majority of Democrats could be rallied to call for withdrawal.
The Abercrombie-Jones measure specifies for the first time a date by which to begin withdrawal: October 1, 2006. No piece of legislation thus far has an end date.
The Senate has been slower to react than the House. An effort by Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy and West Virginia Democrat Robert Byrd to interest their colleagues in an amendment calling for a plan for withdrawal in April was watered down to a request for report on Iraqi security forces and how many American troops will be needed in the near future.
Wisconsin Democratic Senator Russ Feingold broke the logjam by introducing a resolution on June 15 that asks the President to submit a report to Congress providing a time frame for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
While all these measures are modest, they have launched the debate in Congress over the American presence in Iraq.
Media begins to notice the debate
The American media, which has tended to downplay the fighting in Iraq and focus on other issues, is getting the message.
On June 16, there were three important stories on the rising opposition:
The Wall Street Journal headline read: 'Republican Strains Emerge Over Iraq'; the New York Times discovered: '‘Exit Strategy’ Is More Than a Whisper in Washington'; and the Boston Globe headlined a story: 'Pressure growing to plan Iraq exit; Bipartisan group pushes resolution.'
On June 17, a Los Angeles Times story was entitled: 'War Criticism And Concerns Both Growing' while the Washington Times story began: 'Bipartisan Effort Urges Bush for Iraq Withdrawal.'
Politicians react to changing public sentiment and increased media attention.
Iraq as a political issue
Iraq may be beginning to have some resonance on the campaign trail as well. Rep. Harold Ford, a moderate blue dog Democrat from Tennessee who is trying to step up to the U.S. Senate, is running an ad that features Ford voicing his support for the troops but also calling on both parties to 'work hard to bring them home soon.'
The full ad is: 'A few weeks ago, I returned from my third trip to the Middle East, once again reminding me that in war there are no Democrats or Republicans, just Americans. I’m Harold Ford Jr., and I approved this message because this Fourth of July I hope all of us can take a moment to remember those brave Americans fighting to make the world freer and our country safer. Let’s work hard to bring them home soon, and with honor, and make them as proud of us as we are of them.'
As the political newsletter 'Hotline' put it, 'The ad comes at a time when the volume is rising on calls for an exit strategy and as public opposition (or disappointment) on the war appears to be deepening.'
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In short, something profound is changing in this country. The President’s promises of an easy war to destroy Iraq’s weapons of destruction have been discredited and the United States finds itself in a quagmire with high casualties, extravagant costs and no end. The American people are losing their patience with the war, and the politicians are scrambling to catch up.
--From a e-letter by Council for a Livable World.
