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Democrats Seek Bipartisan Defeat in Iraq

10:03 PM, Dec 1, 2006 • By DANIEL MCKIVERGAN
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Democrats ran under the "Bring the Troops Home" banner, but they now expect Republicans to concede defeat along with them. According to today's Christian Science Monitor,

After winning back control of the House and Senate largely on the basis of opposition to the war in Iraq, Democrats are ramping up to find a bipartisan way out of it.

So far, the leading exit strategies on Capitol Hill - more troops, fewer troops, partition of Iraq, and timetables for phased or immediate withdrawal - are tied to individual sponsors. Disagreements cross party lines.

But leading Democrats now say that any exit strategy must be bipartisan. While eager to respect commitments to voters, Democrats don't want to own a war that many believe is already beyond winning - or to be tagged with the consequences of a botched exit.

Secretary Baker's "bipartisan" plan is going nowhere fast, so Democrats will have to accomplish their objective the old fashioned way - seek to legislatively cut off funding for combat operations in Iraq and force a "redeployment" of U.S. forces. I'm sure John Kerry is ready to take the lead in the Senate.

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