An Exit Strategy is Not a Timeline Posted by Lorelei Kelly

Last week, 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. Here is the text of the amendment.

SEC. 1223. WITHDRAWAL OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM IRAQ.

It is the sense of Congress that the President should -

(1) develop a plan as soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act to provide for the withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq; and

(2) transmit to the congressional defense committees a report that contains the plan described in paragraph (1).

While the amendment was only a sense of Congress asking for the President to provide a plan, it an excellent start. The Woolsey amendment drew majority support from Democrats, 122 - 79. In contrast, it was many years into the Vietnam quagmire before a majority of Democrats could be rallied to call for withdrawal.

Five Republicans bucked the President and joined the ranks of other critical Republican voices. The Kool Aid refuseniks who voted for the amendment included conservative Southerners Harold Coble (NC), Walter Jones (NC) and John Duncan (TN), plus moderate Jim Leach (IA) and libertarian Ron Paul (TX). Jones is the Member who, in 2003, renamed "French Fries" "Freedom Fries" in the House cafeteria. 

See the entire vote here.

The challenge now is to not let this vote get turned into a talking point by the Right--who will claim that the affirmative votes hurt our military because the intend to impose a "timeline" and therefore aid and abet the enemy.  This is a false claim.  The amendment does not require anything so specific, but does require some sort of acknowledged plan or conceptual exit strategy.  Even something as simple as a set of "freedom benchmarks" would be nice and whether or not a permanent American military presence is part of that scenario.

Comments

[DonkeyHawk]

The Woolsey Amendment is shameful, and marks a milestone on the well-intentioned road to hell for the Democratic Party. The party of Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy and Clinton is fast becoming the party of Kerry, Dean and Moore (as in Michael), abandoning its proud and strong internationalist past for a weak and neoisolationist future. Lorelei correctly analyzes the potential political damage from the vote - Republicans are sure to exploit it, and we can only hope to blunt the attack, not by pointing to the 5 R's that voted for the amendment, but the dozens of D's that voted against (thank God for Reps. Lantos, Harman, Skleton, Spratt, Hoyer and others). More important is the potential damage to U.S. national security should such a sentiment take hold. Retreating from Iraq now, as the insurgency resurges and the Iraqi government flounders, would hand the terrorists an enormous military and moral victory which we cannot afford.

[Doug]

An exit strategy may not be a timeline, but it seems hard to believe that it would accomplish anything other than to signal to Iraqi insurgents that they can wait out the US.

The US should leave when the sovereign Iraqi government asks us to do so. Clearly that's not happening any time soon, and it seems quite probable that there will be some troops based in Iraq (although not fighting battles there) for decades.

So, Lorelei, what consequences do you see flowing from such an amendment, were it to be adopted as US policy? How would you justify them as good for Americans or for Iraqis?

[Mike]

"While the amendment was only a sense of Congress asking for the President to provide a plan, it an excellent start. The Woolsey amendment drew majority support from Democrats, 122 - 79. In contrast, it was many years into the Vietnam quagmire before a majority of Democrats could be rallied to call for withdrawal."

Let me guess without taking the time to look it up...
They called for a withdrawal after Nixon became President.

[fat sam]

donkeyhawk,
your moniker is as tired as your straw men arguments. Dean may have been painted crazy, but never pansy. and the michael moore jab--ooo, good one!-- where are your talking points from, exactly?
run away with zell and joe-- get a room, while you're at it.

for those of us who realize the charley foxtrot that iraq was and is, this marks a very good beginning indeed.

the reason this matters, gentlemen, is less about the exit strategy, and more about starting the conversation in Congress of whether we insist on having those 14 bases, with murderous consequences, or whether we acknowledge we've already screwed the pooch on that pipedream, and agree to start seriously talking to the iraqis in charge about how the hell we get out.

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