E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Lieberman To Vote Against Troop Withdrawal
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., plans to vote against both Democratic amendments calling for a troop withdrawal from Iraq. Lieberman, who expects to be purged from the Party soon anyway, will announce his position later today, would be the first Democratic senator to oppose both measures now before the Senate. Votes are expected Thursday.
The progressive nutroots bearing tar and feathers expected Friday.
One resolution would call on the White House to begin phased redeployment of troops from Iraq this year, and to submit a plan to Congress by the end of the year for "continued phased redeployment." The other measure, which is expected to gain little support even among Democrats, would have President Bush pull all troops out of Iraq by July 1, 2007. Lieberman is expected to say he believes the U.S. cannot stay indefinitely in Iraq, and cannot write a blank check for its support. But, he plans to say, withdrawal of troops must be based on conditions on the ground, not fixed dates.

His colleague, Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said today he would back the phased redeployment plan. In a 15 minute Senate floor speech, Dodd, who backed the war effort in a 2002 vote, said it was time for the U. S. military to pull back. "I don't mean to suggest that U.S. forces should in any way be precipitously redeployed to Iraq next week or next month," he said. "That would be a mistake, in my view, but I do think it is imperative for planning purposes to think about the benchmarks in a realistic time frameĀ…"

Dodd said it would be "realistic and possible to achieve these benchmarks (for redeployment) within the next 12 to 18 months." He joined a chorus of Democrats backing a plan authored by Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Carl Levin, D-Mich., to go on the record with a tough statement of disapproval for Bush administration policy.
Posted by: Fred 2006-06-22
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=156863