Democrats to push for Iraq withdrawal

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Nov 13, 2006

By Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democrats, who won control of the U.S. Congress, said on Sunday they will push to begin withdrawing American troops from Iraq in the next few months but the White House cautioned against fixing timetables.

The Iraqi government must be told that U.S. presence is "not open-ended," said Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat expected to be chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee in the new Congress that convenes in January.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-11-13T035642Z_01_N20203713_RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ-USA-1.xml&src=rss



Levin may request withdrawal from Iraq

Nov. 12, 2006

Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, set to be the nation's lead Democratic voice on the Iraq war, may call for a withdrawal of troops, a report says.

The Kalamazoo (Mich.) Gazette said Levin, who is expected to take over as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will likely seek a gradual, phased withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Levin, who has strong ties to the uniformed military, will play a central role in determining the policy in Iraq, the report said. Levin also reportedly has good relations with Republican senators.

http://www.washtimes.com/upi/20061112-101947-6452r.htm



Start US Iraq Withdrawal in 4-6 Months: Democrats

11/13/2006 12:00:51 AM - (DPM)

Democrats, who won majorities in the US Congress in last week's elections, said on Sunday, November 12, 2006, they will push for a phased withdrawal of US troops from Iraq to begin in four to six months.

Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who is expected to be chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee in the new Congress. said he hoped some Republicans would emerge to join Democrats and press the administration of President George W. Bush that US presence was "not open-ended."

http://www.dpm.ae/doc_cont.asp?id=102574



Democrats Push for Troop Cuts Within Months

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and MARK MAZZETTI
Published: November 13, 2006

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 — Democratic leaders in the Senate vowed on Sunday to use their new Congressional majority to press for troop reductions in Iraq within a matter of months, stepping up pressure on the administration just as President Bush is to be interviewed by a bipartisan panel examining future strategy for the war.

The Democrats — the incoming majority leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada; the incoming Armed Services Committee chairman, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan; and the incoming Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware — said a phased redeployment of troops would be their top priority when the new Congress convenes in January, even before an investigation of the conduct of the war.

“We need to begin a phased redeployment of forces from Iraq in four to six months,” Mr. Levin said in an appearance on the ABC News program “This Week.” In a telephone interview later, Mr. Levin added, “The point of this is to signal to the Iraqis that the open-ended commitment is over and that they are going to have to solve their own problems.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/13/washington/13military.html?ei=5094&en=23910cc168662861&hp=&ex=1163394000&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print



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