LAT: Senators Face Off Over 2 Democratic Iraq Pullout Plans

Senators Face Off Over 2 Iraq Pullout Plans
As elections loom, each party grasps for political favor in debating the Democratic measures.
By Maura Reynolds, Times Staff Writer
June 22, 2006

WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans dueled over the Iraq war in the Senate on Wednesday, exchanging rhetorical jabs as each side sought political advantage on a debate many strategists believed could be a decisive factor in determining which party would control Congress after the November elections.

The debate — prompted by two Democratic measures calling for the drawdown of U.S. troops, one that proposes a full withdrawal by next summer — is unlikely to have a direct impact on the conduct of the war.

But as election season approaches and polls show rising public unease over the war, Democrats are eager to cast blame on the GOP's war policies, and Republicans are eager to cast doubt on the Democrats' resolve....

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(Senator Jack Reed's) proposal, cosponsored by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and believed to have the support of a strong majority of Democratic senators, urges President Bush to begin a "phased redeployment" of troops from Iraq by the end of this year but does not set a deadline for complete withdrawal.

A more sweeping measure offered by Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.) called for Bush to remove all troops from Iraq by July 1, 2007....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-usiraq22jun22,0,7342724.story?coll=la-home-nation