The Washington Post reports on comments by Virginia senator John Warner:
Sen. John W. Warner, one of the most influential Republican voices in Congress on national security, called on President Bush yesterday to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq in time for Christmas as a new intelligence report concluded that political leaders in Baghdad are "unable to govern effectively."...
"I can think of no clearer form of that than if the president were to announce on the 15th that, in consultation with our senior military commanders, he's decided to initiate the first step in a withdrawal of armed forces," Warner said. "I say to the president respectfully, 'Pick whatever number you wish.' . . . Say, 5,000 could begin to redeploy and be home to their families and loved ones no later than Christmas of this year. That's the first step."
The White House politely rejected Warner's advice, saying any decisions would wait until after Petraeus's presentation next month. "I don't think that the president feels any differently about setting a specific timetable for withdrawal," said spokesman Gordon Johndroe. "I just think it's important that we wait right now to hear from the commanders on the ground about the way ahead."
And commanders on the ground seem to think such a move would be counterproductive. According to CNN, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch had this to say in response to Warner's proposed draw down:
Lynch said troops, helped by the U.S. escalation called the "surge," now are able to operate proactively against insurgents and have made strides against militants. He said "if we were to lose that capability, the enemy would come back."
"We would take a giant step backward," said Lynch, who said he needs the troops he has at present to battle both Shiite and Sunni militants and to confront significant Iranian influence in the region.
He said the fight is so detailed and complicated that there is "no time between now and Christmas to move forces out."
By next spring or summer, however, it is possible there could be enough progress to spur such a move, he said.
Still, one wonders what purpose a purely symbolic drawdown like Warner's might serve...other than politics. Shouldn't the situation on the ground determine troop levels, rather than a call for the White House to "pick whatever number you wish." Even the moonbats connect their calls for immediate withdrawal to an interpretation of the situation on the ground--as misguided as that interpretation might be. And if the number doesn't matter to Warner, why bother at all?
Still, if someone had said six months ago that this would be the shape of the "Republican Rebellion" on Iraq--a lone senator telling the president to pick a number out of a hat as part of some empty political gesture--no one would have believed them. The real rebellion is on the left, where Democratic support for the surge has threatened to scuttle that party's plans for pushing a date for withdrawal.
