Washington – Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar and three other Democrats are sponsoring a Senate amendment urging the Bush administration to launch a phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of this year.
“The time has come for us to make sure that the Iraqi government and the political leadership know that we are not there forever,” Salazar said.
Salazar voted against setting a fixed deadline for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq last week. His measure is seen as a compromise for senators who want to show their impatience with the situation in Iraq but won’t support a certain date for the removal of U.S. forces.
The nonbinding measure would call on President Bush to begin redeploying troops this year, and to furnish Congress with a plan for further redeployment after 2006.
Debate on the measure is expected to begin today, with a vote by the end of the week.
“We’re sending a loud and clear signal … that we’re getting to the point in time where we need to start this phased redeployment of our troops,” Salazar said.
Salazar joined Democratic Sens. Carl Levin of Michigan, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Dianne Feinstein of California in sponsoring the measure.
Another Democratic amendment – by Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Barbara Boxer of California and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin – would require the administration to withdraw U.S. combat and support troops by July 1, 2007.
A similar measure, requiring withdrawal by Dec. 31, 2006, was offered by Republican leaders to divide the Democrats and embarrass anti-war senators. It was defeated last week.
Most Republicans are expected to oppose the plan that Salazar has co-sponsored.
“We should be sending the message … (that) we are there to achieve victory,” said Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.
But many Democrats believe Iraq’s new government needs prodding.
“The current open-ended commitment of U.S. forces in Iraq is unsustainable and is creating an indefinite dependency which gives the Iraqis the impression that their security is mainly in our hands, instead of theirs,” said Levin. “Continuing an open-ended commitment is like a security blanket which reduces the pressure on Iraqis to take the difficult steps that only they can take.”
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has announced his support of the Salazar measure.
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