Democrats Coalesce – FINALLY! – Around Plans to Withdraw

This is not the first time that Congress has voted on legislation to get us out of Iraq, but it’s the first time that Democratic leaders (who now run both houses) have endorsed such efforts. Progressives like Barbara Lee, Dennis Kucinich and Lynn Woolsey have been pushing this for years, but Pelosi did not support it – and their measures went down to defeat. In the Senate last year, Russ Feingold and John Kerry introduced a binding resolution to get us out by July 2007 – but only 13 Senators voted for it. What the Democrats in Congress are finally doing is incredibly important, and concerned citizens should lobby their legislators to get it passed.

Here’s what it does. The Senate version directs the President to transition the mission for U.S. forces in Iraq and begin a phased redeployment in 120 days – with a goal of complete withdrawal by the end of March 2008. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will bring this to a vote on the Senate floor tomorrow.

The House version conditions funding for the War on having our troops fully prepared, and requires the Iraqi government to set benchmarks on getting the country in order. It calls for a complete withdrawal to begin no later than March 2008, and earlier if the Iraqi government fails to make progress beforehand. Because it’s an Appropriation bill, it has to first go to the House Appropriations Committee – who will vote on it this week.

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