It sounds like the Democratic leadership isn't bothering to wait for the Petraeus White House report on all that so-called progress in Iraq before caving to George Bush:
Saying the coming weeks will be "one of the last opportunities" to alter the course of the war, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said he is now willing to compromise with Republicans to find ways to limit troop deployments in Iraq.
Reid acknowledged that his previous firm demand for a spring withdrawal deadline had become an obstacle for a small but growing number of Republicans who have said they want to end the war but have been unwilling to set a timeline.
I don't think we have to think that our way is the only way," Reid said of specific dates during an interview in his office here. "I'm not saying, 'Republicans, do what we want to do.' Just give me something that you think you would like to do, that accomplishes some or all of what I want to do."
So, what does this mean? They will vote to fully fund Bush's Grand Strategy For Victory, Part X, while attaching meaningless, non-binding suggestions that maybe, just maybe, our troops should be fully trained, equipped and rested. Unless George Bush says otherwise, of course. And we know how much respect George Bush has for Congress, or even his own word. Case in point, this from Tony Snow yesterday:
Again, I would -- if you take a look at what Congress has mandated for this report, it says, have you met these? Have you met them in full? Well, the answer is, you're going to find in a lot of cases, of course they haven't met them. Now, the real question is, do you have progress in the right direction?
The other thing I would suggest is that it would be a mistake to limit one's view of what goes on in Iraq to the benchmarks.
What Congress has mandated is meaningless, as are the once sacrosanct benchmarks that Bush laid out in January when he announced his "surge." But any kind of timeline is out and Congress will sign every check the White House sends them. It seems that Reid just said that the official position of the leadership is to run out the clock without a fight.
And this, Senator Reid?
"I'm not saying, 'Republicans, do what we want to do.'
You were voted in as a majority to say exactly that. And it's time you remembered that.
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