Quote of the Day / Senate Iraq Debate

Last week, the House passed "a binding war spending bill requiring that combat operations cease before September 2008, or earlier if the Iraqi government does not meet certain requirements." The Senate is expected to take up this bill in the coming days.

But an initial victory occurred yesterday after a Republican effort to strip the provision from the Senate version requiring a timetable. Senate Democrats (plus two Republicans and minus one Connecticut For Lieberman) held the line in a vote and retained the provision.

The AP says of it, "As drafted, the legislation called for troop withdrawal to begin within 120 days, with a non-binding goal that calls for the combat troops to be gone within a year... The measure also includes a series of suggested goals for the Iraqi government to meet to provide for its own security, enhance democracy and distribute its oil wealth fairly."

This has, of course, aroused anger and criticism from the usual suspects (ie. the 'legislating defeat' rhetoric). It is on that note that Salon's Tim Greive comments on the frustrating 'debate' we keep having on the war-

"As the Senate prepares to vote on a troop withdrawal plan for Iraq, Republican presidential contender John McCain says that 'sooner or later, my Democratic colleagues will find that we should sit down and work on this issue together for the good of the nation.'

Does anyone have any idea what he's talking about?

The bipartisan Iraq Study Group made recommendations for the way forward in Iraq. The Bush administration pretty much ignored them. Republicans and Democrats in the House and the Senate have urged the president to re-think his plan to escalate the war. He has rejected their advice. In a new Pew poll, 59 percent of the people who responded said they'd want their member of Congress to vote for a measure that would require the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by August 2008. The White House has said that the president won't make decisions based upon polls -- and that he's sure the American people wouldn't want to withdraw from Iraq if they knew that withdrawing would be losing.

So, 'sit down and work on this issue together'? There's someone who hasn't tried to do that yet, but it's not those who are calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops. It's the man at the other end of the Pennsylvania Avenue who is keeping them there."

Thoughts?