Republican plan to limit Iraq war going nowhere

by David Lerman of the Daily Press

Senate Democratic leaders Monday said they could not support a measure by Virginia Sen. John Warner to start planning for a reduced U.S. combat role in Iraq.

Democrats, who control the Senate and want to start bringing U.S. troops home, described Warner’s amendment as toothless legislation that would leave President Bush free to maintain current policy.

``That isn’t good enough,” said Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill). ``If you really want to change the policy, you can’t rely on the discretion of a president who doesn’t understand the reality of the war in Iraq. That’s what this debate is all about.”

The criticism came one day after the Bush administration likewise rejected the amendment by Warner and Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., though for different reasons.

While Democrats complained the amendment is too weak, the White House argued it would upset an ``orderly process” for war planning by requiring a new plan by October. Bush has insisted that no new plans be considered until at least September, when the top military commander in Iraq will deliver a progress report.

The twin attacks illustrated the uphill battle awaiting Warner and Lugar this week, as two of the Senate’s most respected voices on foreign policy seek support for an amendment that promises to disappoint Democrats and Republican alike.

Hoping to steer a centrist course on Iraq, Warner and Lugar have proposed requiring Bush to begin planning for a withdrawal of troops and a transition to a more limited military mission in Iraq that no longer focuses on policing sectarian violence.

But the amendment would not require Bush to implement any new plan and it would not mandate any troop withdrawals.

``There’s nothing in the Warner-Lugar amendment that in any way dislodges this strategy from going forward through September,” Warner said Sunday in defending the measure of ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

But that is precisely the problem, in the view of Democratic leaders. While offering praise to Warner and Lugar—two Republican moderates who could play a pivotal role in forging a bipartisan consensus on Iraq— Democrats made clear they do not believe the amendment goes far enough.

``Their amendment is reaching in the right direction, but of course, it gives the president unlimited leeway to do anything that he wants,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The measure could come to a vote later this week, as the Senate tries to complete action on it annual defense policy bill. But Reid and other Democrats are pushing first for an alternative amendment that would mandate the withdrawal of most troops from Iraq by next April.

Freshman Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), a former Marine and outspoken war critic, has not taken a position on either amendment
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Unlike his party’s leaders, Webb declined to oppose the Warner amendment Monday.

``Sen. Webb believes that the Warner-Lugar amendment is a show of responsible leadership from two former committee chairmen, and he’s taking a close look at it,” said Webb spokeswoman Jessica Smith. ``He plans to discuss the amendment with the senators further in an attempt to allay the outstanding concerns that he has.”

Today, Webb and other Democratic freshmen are scheduled to introduce their own amendment calling for an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate U.S. wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

David Lerman reports for the Daily Press of Hampton Roads, Va., a Tribune Co. newspaper.