[Anyone] holy shitamungus:

[Thos Myers]

Domenici Breaks Ranks With President Over Iraq

Senator Calling For Troop Drawdown In 2008
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- U.S. Senator Pete Domenici Thursday joined a growing
chorus of Republicans who are calling for a change in course in U.S.
military strategy in Iraq.


The New Mexico Republican said he supports a bipartisan Senate bill that
would create conditions that could allow for a drawdown of U.S. combat
forces in Iraq by next March.


Domenici said he does not want to wait until September, when military
commanders are to give an assessment.


Domenici said things are getting worse, not better, in Iraq.


He said parents of New Mexico's military war dead in the past told him the
U.S. should stay in Iraq as long as it takes.


Now, he said, they're asking him to do more to bring the troops back home
sooner.
***
Domenici, Pushed by Iraqi Government Failures, Supports New U.S.
Military Strategy
from the Office of Senator Pete V. Domenici

Thursday, July 5, 2007



-- Backs Plan Moving U.S. Troops Away from Combat, Toward Home --

WASHINGTON – Pointing to his profound disappointment in the Iraqi
government, U.S. Senator Pete Domenici today called for a redirection
of U.S. military policy in Iraq and announced his support for
bipartisan legislation to create conditions by which American combat
troops can be removed from that nation.

Domenici, who serves on the Senate Defense Appropriations
Subcommittee, announced his decision to support the legislation, the
Iraq Study Group Recommendation Implementation Act (S.1545), at a
news conference in Albuquerque Thursday.

I want a new strategy for Iraq. I continue to completely support the
men and women in the American Armed Forces. They have not failed us.
It is the Iraqi government that is failing to make even modest
progress to help Iraq itself or to merit the sacrifices being made by
our men and women in uniform,” Domenici said. “I am unwilling to
continue our current strategy.”

"I have carefully studied the Iraq situation, and believe we cannot
continue asking our troops to sacrifice indefinitely while the Iraqi
government is not making measurable progress to move its country
forward,” Domenici said. “I do not support an immediate withdrawal
from Iraq or a reduction in funding for our troops. But I do support
a new strategy that will move our troops out of combat operations and
on the path to coming home.”

S.1545, introduced by Senators Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) and Lamar
Alexander (R-Tenn.), embraces the recommendations in the Iraq Study
Group Report issued by the bipartisan Baker Hamilton Commission. The
bill makes the Iraq Study Group’s 79 recommendations the policy of
the United States, and asks the Bush administration—working with
military and diplomatic leaders—to implement those recommendations.

The bill is intended to create conditions that could allow for a
drawdown of American combat forces in Iraq by March 2008. Under S.
1545, the U.S. military could maintain a long-term but more limited
presence in Iraq—focused on protecting American personnel and
interests, training and advising Iraqi forces, and carrying out
counterterrorism and special operations missions.

Domenici indicated that the provisions in S.1545 could be debated as
part of the FY2008 Defense Authorization Bill that the Senate will
take up next week.

-30-

Iraq Study Group Recommendations Implementation Act (S. 1545)

• Legislation to make the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group the
official policy of the United States.

Why introduce this bill now?

• A political solution in Washington is needed as much as one is
needed in Baghdad.

• The recommendations of the Iraq Study Group offer the best
opportunity for a bipartisan consensus on a new course in Iraq.

What would the bill do?

• It would get the United States out of the combat in Iraq, and into
the support, training, and equipping business, as soon as possible.

How would that work?

• Create the conditions that could allow for a drawdown of combat
forces by March of 2008 (not a set deadline) so that those who remain
could:

 >> Protect U.S. and coalition personnel and infrastructure

 >> Train, equip, and advise Iraqi forces

 >> Conduct targeted counterterrorism operations

 >> Conduct search and rescue missions

 >> Conduct rapid reaction and special operations

• Maintain a long-term, but more limited presence in Iraq to support
a short-term redeployment of combat forces to stabilize Baghdad,
complemented by a political, economic, and diplomatic strategy.

• Support the comprehensive set of recommendations of the Iraq Study
Group – from establishing milestones to evaluate Iraqi progress, to
engaging in diplomatic discussions with all of Iraq’s neighbors.

• Cosponsored by Senators: Salazar, Alexander, Pryor, Domenici,
Bennett, Casey, Gregg, Lincoln, Sununu, and Collins.

END