Wash. Times Claims Increased GOP Unity On Iraq, Ignores New Anti-War Conservative

In an article this morning, the Washington Times is claiming that the recent testimony by Gen. David Petraeus has “bolstered” Republican unity in support of President Bush’s Iraq policy. The piece, written by S.A. Miller, quotes House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) as saying “his caucus is considerably more unified” on Iraq following Petraeus’ report:

House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican, said his caucus is considerably more unified on the war issue following the report by Gen. Petraeus and Ryan C. Crocker, U.S. ambassador to Iraq. [...]

“We’ve taken a different approach than [Democrats] have on Iraq from the very start,” said Mr. Blunt. “They saw Iraq as a political issue, and we saw it as both a security issue and an issue that had to be above politics for our members.”

The article concludes from Blunt’s comments that “the fact that few if any members of Congress are shifting their position likely signals a replay of Democratic losses in past war debates.” But Miller never mentions that on the second day of Petraeus’ testimony, Rep. Jim Walsh, a member of the House Republican caucus, actually changed his position on Iraq, calling for troop withdrawals to begin:

Rep. Jim Walsh, in a dramatic break with the White House, returned Monday from a trip to Iraq saying it’s time to bring troops home and stop funding the war. [...]

“Before I went, I was not prepared to say it’s time to start bringing our troops home,” Walsh said. “I am prepared to say that now. It’s time.”

Walsh’s announcement came as Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, told House members that the troop “surge” has made progress.

But Walsh said he saw little evidence that much has changed in Iraq since he last visited four years ago.

As Steve Benen noted recently, Walsh is one of 11 “moderate” Republicans who “gave President Bush a blunt warning on his Iraq policy” in May “that conditions needed to improve” in Iraq “or more Republicans would desert him on the war.”