With public support for the Iraq war withering, and fewer than half of all Americans now considering President Bush to be trustworthy, Congress is beginning to exert the first stirrings of pressure on the White House.
Senate Democrats put forward a measure to force the White House to deliver a timeline for withdrawing troops. Republicans defeated the effort and then put forward their own resolution, urging that 2006 “be a period of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty.”
Who can argue with that? What’s significant here is that on both sides of the aisle, members of Congress are less inclined than ever to leave the Iraq war to Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld. They are ready to be heard.
Approved overwhelmingly – 41 or the GOP’s 55 senators voted for it – the Senate GOP measure calls for Iraqi forces to take the lead in providing security so U.S. troop strength can be downsized, and it asks the Bush administration to give Congress regular in-depth reports on progress in Iraq.
It is essentially the Democrats’ plan without the timeline.
The Senate’s action signals that as Congress heads into an election year, many members are getting anxious and frustrated over a conflict that’s lost popular support.
So far, more than 2,000 U.S. troops have died in a war that’s cost more than $200 billion. Untold tens of thousands of Iraqis also have been killed.
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., head of the Armed Services Committee and co-sponsor of the Senate measure, said Tuesday’s vote was meant to send a message to Iraqis that “we have stood with you, we have done our part,” and now it’s time for them to do theirs.
Political anxiety is palpable across the country. In a recent poll of registered voters, only 9 percent said their first choice in next year’s elections would be a Republican who supports Bush on almost every major issue. Fewer than half of all Americans now find President Bush honest – a huge drop from his re-election ratings only a year ago.
The Bush administration fears a timetable for withdrawal would only cause the insurgents to lie in wait until U.S. forces depart. The Senate shouldn’t handcuff the president during a difficult war, but yesterday’s stirring, along with Senate action on detainee policies, is a healthy indication that Congress expects to be heard now. After several tough speeches from President Bush, even the Republicans are worried that he hasn’t been listening.
