GOP Senators back Lugar’s Iraq shift.
GOP Senators back Lugar’s Iraq shift.
“Republican senators expressed support today for Indiana Sen. Richard G. Lugar’s call for an immediate change of course in Iraq,” CQ reports.
“I hail what he did,” said Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., former chairman of the Armed Services Committee. “It shows the strength that each of us individually must bring to this debate.” Warner said that he too feels the September reporting date is too long to wait to revise U.S. war policy. [...]
There is a growing feeling among senators that the U.S. presence in Iraq needs review, [Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)] said, adding that he agrees that troops levels should be reduced “as soon as it is realistic to do it.” [...]
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said that it is important to find out if the administration is listening to differing views on Iraq. “If they’re not, I think that many of us are going to look at legislation that will limit the number of troops,” he said. Voinovich intends to submit a letter to the administration detailing an exit plan that would include engagement with the Arab League and the United Nations, he said.
UPDATE: The Washington Post buries Lugar’s speech.
UPDATE II: Lugar “just told reporters that the White House called him to ask for a meeting. Lugar would not say who he is meeting with or when it would happen, but all indications are that it will be National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and it will take place later in the week.”
UPDATE III: The Crypt has posted Voinovich’s letter to Bush: “Though it may seem contradictory, I believe we can accomplish more in Iraq by gradually and responsibly reducing our forces and focusing on a robust strategy of international cooperation and coordinated foreign aid.”
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Do hear that … ?
Sounds like a crevasse ….
June 26th, 2007 at 3:03 pmTALK IS CHEAP!!!!
June 26th, 2007 at 3:06 pmCAP did a good job on Diane Rehm this morning, but Ya’ll should have been more aggressive with Pete Hegseth. I’ve never heard anyone more full of s*** than this guy. He’s a goddamn spin machine. He’s truly unbelievable.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:06 pmFroomkin spotted the trend in his column this morning.
Support is collapsing fast. Wow. With immigration tearing the GOP apart and now this, it’s going to be a fascinating summer.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:08 pmI heard it too, its 800,000 Rwandans and 8,000 Sbrenicians saying “The U.N.???”
That echo is 50,000 black Sudanese saying “The Arab League???”
June 26th, 2007 at 3:08 pmUh oh. Eery creaking sounds coming from the hull of the USS Dumbya . The rat parade is due to begin shortly.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:08 pmYup, you can tell when people are starting to worry about the next election.
As we Americans are ADD challenged, all we’ll remember is, YUP, THEY VOTED TO BRING OUR PEOPLE HOME. Nevermind the rubber stamping for six plus years. Nevermind the dishonesty and everything else.
Hipocracy. Pure and simple. Whatever will get them reelected again.
I do hope our people come home AND we start some kind of dialog to fix what we so sorely broke. All those poor people over there. It’s an abomination what we did to that country.
F*uck the GOP and every one who associates with them.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:11 pmWAPO ! > So Did INDIANAPOLIS STAR !
Indiana’s only Major Newspaper – Indianapolis Star has always been Americas #1 GOP Mouthpiece in overkill. Knowing this I guess it seems reasonable when one of it’s own Repugs flies the coop they won’t print it. Funny how Hoosiers are kept in the dark about their very own Senior Senators major statement over the weekend. Go here to Indy Star.com online:
http://www.indystar.com/...
You will find NOTHING about it (though the rest of the U.S. is talking about it in a BIG WAY). Give’em credit though – there was a link yesterday way,way down and buried with the headline “GOP Senator said” yada yada buried way down in National News links only for a few hours. Now this is gone as well. Indiana is so oblivous to real political news they wouldn’t know it if they saw it. In most cases they don’t see it thanks to Indy Star and VP Dan’s Quayle’s wife’s family that controls the newspaper. Yep Danny-Boy married well and made sure he got elected Senator from Indiana – way back – great conections – huh? Maryln’s know to be super bitch – but that’s his problem – right?
June 26th, 2007 at 3:11 pmSupport is collapsing fast. Wow. With immigration tearing the GOP apart and now this, it’s going to be a fascinating summer.
Yes it will be. Finally we can take a shot at getting rid of the Rinos who pander to the dems. Colonel Repya, its your turn.
Ill be interested to see how the big non-service unions react to this.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:11 pmQuick Rove, the trolls need new talking points to “debunk” the momentum that’s building!
June 26th, 2007 at 3:12 pmThey might not support the war anymore, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll vote with you on any significant issue – including the war.
They’ll deal with the Bush problem in-house.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:13 pmI didn’t even know the White House HAD a wood shed.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:14 pmAll those poor people over there.
Yes, you must be crying deep tears of sorrow over those people. Even more tears than when Saddam was busy gassing, hanging, torturing, executing and burying them in mass graves. You did care about them back then, right?
F*uck the GOP and every one who associates with them.
Would that include Hillary who continues to defend her pro-war vote? Careful, she might be your nominee; should make for quite the election-day conundrum for you.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:15 pmELECTION 2008: Republicans had the solution in Iraq. Dems voted for the war,voted to continue the war and had no solution
June 26th, 2007 at 3:19 pmAssumptions. You have no idea whom I support.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:19 pmThey’ll deal with the Bush problem in-house.
Comment by MAF54 — June 26, 2007 @ 3:13 pm
But that is exactly what they haven’t been doing. Instead of dealing with the problem, they try to ignore the 1,000# gorilla in the room. However when dealing with an upset electorate, and an upcoming re-election, they know they will lose, they suddenly have the desire to confront Bush? I sincerely doubt they truly want to change thier toon, just don’t want more seats lost to democrats.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:19 pmMore traitors leaving our beloved party. maybe we it’s best that we weed out all the bad Republicans now. We need to know before we declare martial law and start the cleansing process.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:20 pmUPDATE II: Lugar “just told reporters that the White House called him to ask for a meeting. Lugar would not say who he is meeting with or when it would happen, but all indications are that it will be National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and it will take place later in the week.â€
Uh oh, Lugar’s going hunting with Shooter.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:22 pmLet’s begin the bipartison healing NOW, for the good of our Country.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:22 pm“Yes, you must be crying deep tears of sorrow over those people. Even more tears than when Saddam was busy gassing, hanging, torturing, executing and burying them in mass graves. You did care about them back then, right?
Comment by Man — June 26, 2007 @ 3:15 pm”
Where YOU crying when Saddam was killing his people with weapons that Reagan or Bush I sold to him???
Of course NOT!!!!
As long as YOUR party sold the weapons, then it’s OK……. But lets not bring that up because it means nothing, other then the fact that without those weapons he would have NOT been able to kill that many of his people.
IDIOT!
June 26th, 2007 at 3:23 pmWeed out bad republicans? There is no other kind.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:25 pmSo the thugs from the crime family want to whack him?
June 26th, 2007 at 3:26 pm#16: Bush is practically a former president now, and Cheney has gone just plain nuts. From now on, it’s going to be all about damage control for GOP.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:26 pmBut, change can’t come soon enough. So just wait and……..
June 26th, 2007 at 3:26 pmA bad Republican is one who does not follow the doctrine of James Dobson. It is a Republican who believes any tenet of the liberal church.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:27 pmComment by kasinca — June 26, 2007 @ 3:26 pm
Let’s just say, we’re gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:27 pmCold Water works best for removing blood.
No concern about shortage of H2O, they have been carrying it for years.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:28 pmThis is nothing, until Lugar and other Republicans actually vote to accomplish this. Otherwise, it’s just a vehicle for Republicans to pick up brownie points as “independent” . Wake me when something actually happens.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:29 pmSounds like Sen. Lugar will enter the White House feisty and leave with a sore butt if you get my drift > lol. He will be threatened to tow the line.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:29 pmit’s going to be all about damage control for GOP.
Comment by MAF54 — June 26, 2007 @ 3:26 pm
very true, but the failure of the republican party, is why they are in damage control mode. Why did it get to this point? They failed to reign in Bush for 6 years, now they fear him, because he may have damaged the party beyond repair. Far more concern with power, then with country. Guess what despite what bush thinks, the rapture is not an exit strategy
June 26th, 2007 at 3:31 pmI hope Lugar doesn’t hunt.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:31 pmgreat! now vote the way you are talking when war bills come up!
June 26th, 2007 at 3:32 pm“great! now vote the way you are talking when war bills come up!
Comment by Pete Bogs — June 26, 2007 @ 3:32 pm”
That would require a concious (SP?)….
June 26th, 2007 at 3:35 pmSupport is collapsing fast. Wow. With immigration tearing the GOP apart and now this, it’s going to be a fascinating summer.
Comment by pinson
Ah — but will it be like the summer of 1972 (criminal break-in mentioned briefly in the papers, then glossed over)? Or the summer of 1973 (hirings, firings, accusations, senate hearings, growing scandal)? Or the summer of 1974 (end of the road)?
June 26th, 2007 at 3:37 pmNobody has ever found out what happened to a few billion in hard cold American cash that was shipped to Iraq. I believe some of the shrink-wrapped bricks of 100 dollar bills are kept in the White House basement to bribe members of Congress. Bush calls in a guy like Lugar and tosses a couple bricks on the table. He keeps tossing till the person is bought out. If that does not work, then Karl Rove comes in with the pics of the Senator naked with a boy. Senator then leaves with the cash, because alternative is exposure in the press.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:39 pmRepukian speak for – I need to distance myself from Bush or I will lose the next election.
And when September comes then what? They have stuck our troops between a rock and a hard place. You can’t just up and leave and if you stay you are a target..a no win situation. Bush the Idiot King has gotten our country in a lose-lose situation. We are gonna be stuck there for years and years to come.
Our repukian trolls are super neanderthal subhumans today. Do they just get dumber and dumber by the day?
June 26th, 2007 at 3:41 pmPart of the plan… the plan being: Republicans are going to end the so called war, then for ‘08 they can say “See… it’s the Democrats that voted for the war – we want to end it.”
June 26th, 2007 at 3:45 pmHow outrageous is this to play politics around war, death – the lives of our military?
Luger will meet with Karla Rove, who will show Luger all the naughty pictures 0f Luger that Rove has.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:48 pmIt is rumored in DC that Lugar is Gay, so Rove has the goods on him.
June 26th, 2007 at 3:51 pmLOL too funny frank, I am glad that the Taliban admitting defeat, and an assassination in Iran clearly shows we are winning in Iraq.
hehehehehehehehehe
June 26th, 2007 at 3:52 pmLugar “just told reporters that the White House called him to ask for a meeting. Lugar would not say who he is meeting with or when it would happen, but all indications are that it will be National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and it will take place later in the week.â€
No one ever comes out of these meetings with their spine intact. I’m guessing this is where Hadley and Lugar sit alone in an office and Hadley slides over a manila folder from Dick Cheney marked “Treated as Secret/SCI” and says that the press doesn’t need to find out any of the contents, as long as everyone plays nice…
June 26th, 2007 at 3:53 pmMy question is, how do you reduce the numbers without simply signing their death certificates? You have to pull ALL of them. And TALK with the countries in the region.
God, this administration has FUBAR the entire region, not to mention our reputation in the world.
THE HAGUE!
June 26th, 2007 at 3:53 pmThe Dems need to bring up a vote right before the november election, and see who votes for continuing the war, and who votes against. Then use that vote to gain more seats.
June 26th, 2007 at 4:03 pmJust another Republican attempt to fake his concern and improve his ratings. Hadley’s gonna make him recant, rethink and withdraw. Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi’s office continues to make no comment when I called to demand her reasons for keeping impeachment off the table.
June 26th, 2007 at 4:05 pm“Even more tears than when Saddam was busy gassing, hanging, torturing, executing and burying them in mass graves. You did care about them back then, right?”
Actually I did care about them. Especially when I found out that Saddam gassed the Kurds with gas he purchased from the United States!
June 26th, 2007 at 4:08 pmlet the republican scum knaw on each others’ limbs, and that goes for the trolls here who can’t figure out what to say now that everthing is collapsing. The first thing the hillary should do when she takes control of the Whitehouse, after having minesweepers clear the buliding, is get a hold of the voter registration rolls and draft every republican and send them over to Iraq and bring the real patriots home.
June 26th, 2007 at 4:10 pmre 45
you tell the morons! one can’t help but notice a lack of reponse from the trollscum.
June 26th, 2007 at 4:15 pmDo a little news googling and see that Afghanstan is going to produce what is probably the worlds largest crop of opium ever. I’m not a huge conspiracy type guy, but i do say no way Georgie boy is pulling troops out of Iraq/Afghanistan until that harvest comes in. I’m not sure what his cut is, but it is sure as Hell interesting that since we’ve been there, they’ve done nothing but harvest one record crop of opium after another — each year more tons than the last. Go check the UN they have no problem documenting this.
So if i understand this right, opium is turned into herion, and both end up on the black market. The profits, being illegal, are not tracked all that well and this is a significant source of funding for terrorist, and maybe even our own CIA given today’s dirty laundry hung out to dry. Anyway, too many American adults and teens and folks all around the world are going to become addicts to this stuff, and many will die, as well as spur related crime and such. But for some far more important reason, our own military has even been filmed protected fields of poppies.
Thanks Dick-n-George, love that foreign policy, is this something Henry K. told you all to do? He’s such a well spring of good ideas.
Well if we do leave Iraq you know what they say… It’s off to Iran.
June 26th, 2007 at 4:20 pmThis is not OK Corral. It is more like anytime movers trying to save the family funiture before forclosure.
These guys just love their jobs but they prefer to ride the waves and pose for photos than defend the Constitution. When vote time comes around does anyone really have any doubt about where they will take their stand?
June 26th, 2007 at 4:28 pmThank you, Sen. Lugar
Regardless of reason why, you’ve given Rightards something to think about today, tomorrow & for as long as you stand with your position.
June 26th, 2007 at 4:30 pmWatch for the media to start reporting on how the Republicans are getting us out of Iraq… bull…
June 26th, 2007 at 4:48 pm#51 Well, in a way they could be right, as none of the Dem leaders have the balls to do it themselves.
So, any way we get out is OK by me, as this madness needs to end NOW!!!
June 26th, 2007 at 5:29 pmWatch for the media to start reporting on how the Republicans are getting us out of Iraq
I think there’s going to be a penalty for an early withdrawal.
June 26th, 2007 at 5:34 pmTo be a suicide bomber invited to meet with Hadley..Priceless.
June 26th, 2007 at 6:02 pmIt is time for actions. F*ck the debate.
June 26th, 2007 at 6:15 pmAustinSF…. Brace yourself! There ARE liberal Democrats here in Indiana who read more than the Indy Star and who are very aware of what is going on!!! Please don’t make the mistake of thinking every Hoosier is a Bush supporter…. or as dumb as Dan Quale or my 6th District Rep. “shopping in Iraq like Indiana in summer” Mike Pence! Some of us even complain that our Dem. Sen. Evan Bayh isn’t liberal enough!
We hold protests against this war, write letters to our local papers, volunteer to get out the vote, etc. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of Bush apologists here in Indiana and many suffer from incurable cases of cognitive dissonance…..but we’re working on them!
Oh, by the way, Dan Quale’s father is the one who owned the newspaper publishing company … not his wife Marilyn. The joke was, when Dan and Marilyn had their law practice, that he was the beauty and she was the brains of their law firm.
June 26th, 2007 at 6:23 pmI knew this was going to happen…I just didn’t know when. This is a WATERSHED event. Lugar is not just any republican…he’s the former head of the Senate foreign intelligence commitee…and a very WELL RESPECTED voice for foreign policy.
June 26th, 2007 at 6:27 pmIf he sticks to his statements that the Surge is Not Working, then Bush will launch operation Figleaf.
Make that the Senate foreign RELATIONS committe. My ooops.
June 26th, 2007 at 6:29 pmWhile I appreciate the GOP imploding on this issue, I don’t believe they truly want to exit Iraq. They are going to spend 2008 babbling about how they INTEND to leave Iraq in 2009 in order to placate gullible voters who will believe the lie.
June 26th, 2007 at 7:24 pmSoooooo, where is the outrage? The cries that Lugar is not supporting the troops? That he is aiding the enemy? That he has not given the surge a chance?
I doubt we will see any, but we MUST REMIND them.
Perhaps someone can post the conservative reaction to Dem calls for a change in course versus, compare what Lugar said to what Dems said in the past.
THAT should be the story, not just what Lugar said. However, a great headline for this would be:
‘Lugar finally agrees with Democrats on changing course in Iraq’
June 26th, 2007 at 9:25 pmWell it is time those Neo Con’s realize what a outrage this so called leader of Mass Destruction has accomplish which is the partial dismantling of America and it constitution and the desolution of it once powerful military. You Anglo’s voted this alcoholice C average coke snorting wannabe cowboy into the white house. Because you thought Bill Clinton was helping black folks to much! Now after countless white young military men and women have been wounded or killed . You finally want this man out of office!!! This dude and the republican party stole votes to get elected rigged voting machine put nazis on the Supreme Court and attempted to get rid of Habeas Corpus. A congress full of corrupt yes men and women towing the party line to it own destruction and the destruction of America as well. Just look the world view the USA as the new re-birth of the Nazi Party and Bush an American President is viewed in the the eyes of the world as a Hitler clone. Just think of his grandfather Prescott who supported the Nazi party and Hitler and you will draw the line . And George Bush Sr who was friends with John Hinkley Family and no one drew the connection to the bush family and R Reagan Hospital stay at George Washington University. hmmm this family called bush is like the mafia ruling the USA from the white house. Also close ties to Saudi Billions connections to Bin Laden in the 70’s . Why so many Americans prefer blinders and refuse to connect the dots is above me/
June 26th, 2007 at 10:09 pmThis would be a great strategy.
The Democrats could claim that they brought the troops home as promised, and left a counter-terrorism force. There’d still be 150,000 troops there, but the name change would allow the Democrats to fulfill a campaign promise.
Plus, both Democrats and Republicans want to keep the US armed forces there fighting, no matter what “name” the force is called.
June 27th, 2007 at 1:32 amSo does this make the GOP the Party of “Slice and Stroll”. Bunch of fekkid idjits all of them.
June 27th, 2007 at 7:10 amWe need the OIL. That’s all there is too it. Pull out but keep the oil. All you bleeding hearts don’t get it. Even the most environmentally responsible, Prius driving, beer can recycling, organic food consuming, bicycle riding, hemp wearing, Gore loving, ex-hippie uses TONS of oil. Our whole society is based on it. Alternative fuels are not ready yet. WE NEED OIL for the forseeable future.
June 27th, 2007 at 9:15 am