NYT: Democrats, Engaging Bush, Vow Early Action Over Iraq

[DeepModem Mom]

Democrats, Engaging Bush, Vow Early Action Over Iraq
By CARL HULSE and THOM SHANKER
Published: November 11, 2006


(David Scull for The New York Times)
President Bush met Friday with the Senate’s incoming majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada. After the meeting, Mr. Reid said Democrats will increase the focus on Iraq when they formally take over in January.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 — Democrats sought on Friday to put their new political power to use in shaping the debate over Iraq, promising stepped-up Congressional oversight of the war and a resolution demanding a schedule for reducing the number of troops there.

After two days in which both sides pledged bipartisanship in the aftermath of the Democratic victory in the midterm elections, leaders of the new Democratic majority began asserting themselves, seeking to give Congress a greater role in both foreign and domestic policy after years in which, in their view, President Bush was granted too much latitude.

After meeting with Mr. Bush at the White House, Senator Harry Reid, the incoming Senate majority leader, said “the first order of business” when Democrats formally take over in January will be to reinvigorate Congressional scrutiny of the executive branch, with a focus on Iraq.

“Let’s find out what’s going on with the war in Iraq, the different large federal agencies that we have,” said Mr. Reid, Democrat of Nevada. “There simply has been no oversight in recent years.”

The willingness of Democrats to begin confronting Mr. Bush and his party over Iraq suggested that the early promises of cooperation across the aisle would be tested quickly by deep differences over policy and political imperatives on both sides.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/11/us/politics/11elect.html?hp&ex=1163221200&en=bc8f21891e3e9a0f&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[HaggardsMethDealer]

1. What a great picture!

Harry Reid looking at the Chimp like..."I'm gonna enjoy this, son."

[arewenotdemo]

2. “Let’s find out what’s going on with the war in Iraq"

You don't know by now, Harry?

:wtf:

[Bushies gotta go]

3. of course he "knows"

You can read that statement as ... "lets show the rest of America what is REALLY going on there"... instead of the chimp's relentness bullshit story

[rodeodance]

4. Rummy has been skewing the figures---He said that the other day, so

'reports' coming from the DOD are not reliable.

Dems want to look into this.

[rodeodance]

5. but I also imagine that Paper Shredders are going full speed in DC

[rodeodance]

6. read this about Resolutions and Sen. Levin:

....Though Democrats will not take power until January, the incoming chairmen of the committees with jurisdiction over national security said in interviews that they hoped to persuade Republicans to respond to their losses at the polls by backing resolutions — perhaps as early as the lame-duck Congressional session beginning next week — that call on Mr. Bush to change course.

Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, who is in line to become chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Congress must be the agent “to make it clear to the Iraqis that we cannot save them from themselves.”

“They need to make the political compromises that only they can make,” Mr. Levin added. “We’ve got to let the Iraqis know there is no open-ended commitment.”

Mr. Levin has for several months advocated linking the presence of American troops to political progress in Iraq, a stance that Pentagon officials had dismissed as reckless but that is now gaining wider, even bipartisan, support. While there is no language yet for such a resolution, he indicated that it could describe the requirements for continued American military commitment to Iraq, and some specified number of months for its duration.

“At the end of this time period, we would begin the reduction of American forces,” Mr. Levin said. “I think such a resolution would have tremendous power on the president. It would not just represent a bipartisan majority of Congress, and its urgent recommendation. It would be a reflection of the people’s voice as expressed” at the polls.

[heidler1]

7. I'm in favor of early reduction of troops. I also believe that the

McCain's desire to increase the troops is a Republican trap to get the new Dem Congress to push for victory using the failed Bush plan so the Rep. can throw it back in our face in the 2008 election.