A group of bipartisan Representatives announced this morning their plans to introduce a Resolution making phased redeployment in 2006 the official policy of the United States. (It's unclear whether the resolution says the "end of 2006" or just 2006--I'll link to the text when it's up) The GOP has tried to paint Democrats as cut-n'-run cowards by proposing not one, but two resolutions. The first was a fraudulent representation of Murtha's resolution, and the second,
passed yesterday, rejecting a timetable for withdrawal (the resolution passed 279-109).
Yet this morning, a group of bipartisan Representatives offered a real resolution rather than a political ploy. The group (which includes Democrats Kucinich and Meehan, and Republicans Jones and Paul)presented their bill at a press conference. At that press conference, they had blown up a quote by then-Governor Bush:
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is...I think it's also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn."
The resolution states that 2006 "should be a period of significant transition" with a transfer to full sovereignty, "thereby creating the conditions for the phased redeployment of United States troops from Iraq."
Update [2005-12-17 13:21:36 by georgia10]:: Some more details on the resolution. The bill presses for the Iraqi government to decide whether troops should leave Iraq. From Kucinich's statement: (read it on the flip)
“The new permanent elected body in Iraq, not the US House of Representatives, should vote on the length of the US occupation. It is their country. What Iraq needs and what Iraq wants in terms of continued US military occupation should be determined by the Iraqis, not the US occupying force or politicians in Washington.
“Over and over this Administration has compared Iraq’s progress towards democracy with our nation’s struggle over 200 years ago. Using the Administration’s own analogy, it is time to allow Iraq the chance to write its own Declaration of Independence.
“Iraq has passed a Constitution, and has held elections to have a permanent elected body. Iraq, by all measurable means, is a sovereign nation. As such, it should be able to debate and vote on the most important issue facing their nation—the US occupation. The Administration has repeatedly stated that if the Iraqis ask us to leave, we will leave. Poll after poll in Iraq indicate that the Iraqi people overwhelming oppose the US occupation.
“It is now time for this Administration to live up to its word, and allow Iraqis to make the most important and basic decision about the future of their country. The Iraqi people cannot fully be free until decisions about their future are made in Baghdad and not Washington.”
The Kucinich/Paul resolution will make it the sense of Congress, “that the new permanent Council of Representatives should debate and vote on whether or not a continued U.S. military presence in Iraq is desired by the government of Iraq; and that such a debate and vote should be conducted in an open and transparent manner, and occur as soon as practicable.”
So the key to this resolution is recognizing that once Iraq becomes a sovereign nation, it is entitled to decide whether we should stay. That is why the resolution calls for 2006 to be a "period of transition" to full sovereignty. For the record, an ABC News/Time poll last week found nearly
2/3 of Iraqis opposed to our presence in Iraq.
