Lieberman warns against troop pullout

by David Lightman of the Hartford Courant

The Senate proposals to begin pulling U. S. troops out of Iraq would represent "a defeat for the United States and the forces of a new Iraq," Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman told his colleagues today.

In an impassioned 15-minute floor speech, the Connecticut independent, who caucuses with Senate Democrats, laid out why any measure calling on the U.S. to redeploy troops would be a serious mistake at this time.

He called such plans "untimely, they are unwise and they are unfair."

And he charged that the proposals "represent the continuation of a long time legislative warfare in Iraq, no matter what the facts on the ground are."

He praised the U.S. troops, noting "This war in Iraq will never be lost by our military on the ground in Iraq. The war in Iraq can only be lost with a loss of poltical will here at home and perhaps with the loss of political will in Iraq, but that story is not finished yet."

Lieberman spoke as some Republicans began questioning President Bush's war strategy. The administration is expected to deliver to Congress an interim report on the war shortly, a report expected to show few of the benchmarks for progress have been met. A final report is due in September.

In the meantime, the Senate returned Tuesday from a Fourth of July recess and immediately began debating Iraq policy. Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., proposed ordering the president to begin withdrawing troops within 120 days and ending most involvement by next April.

While momentum is with the war's skeptics, Lieberman took the floor early in the day and urged patience.

He said calls for pullbacks are "untimely in the sense that they are premature and should await September when, as ordained by this Congress itself" there will be a full report.

For now, the senator said, "the surge is showing some success, in some ways remarkable success and doesn't justify these amendments of retreat being introduced at this time."

He noted that "many challenges in Iraq that had long been described as hopelessly beyond solution have begun to improve."

In Baghdad, Lieberman said, "the sectarian violence that had paralyzed the city for more than a year began to drop dramatically. In Anbar province…our surge forces have moved in effectively."

Finally, he urged, "let's not undercut our troops and legislate a defeat in Iraq where none is occurring now, where hope is strong, where the momentum is, in fact, on our side."