Posted on 07/05/2007 11:57:03 AM PDT by Santa Fe_Conservative
Domenici calls for change in Iraq strategy
ALBUQUERQUE — U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici on Thursday joined a growing chorus of Republicans who are calling for a change in course in U.S. military strategy in Iraq — sooner rather than later.
Domenici, R-N.M., 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. The bill is based on recommendations released six months ago by an independent study group.
“I do not support an immediate withdrawal from Iraq or a reduction in funding for our troops or a reduction in funding for our troops,” he said. “But I do support a new strategy that will move our troops out of combat operations and on the path to coming home.”
President Bush has been losing GOP support for his decision in January to send 30,000 extra troops to Iraq to secure Baghdad and Anbar, although he called last weekend for patience as U.S. forces conduct stepped-up operations. The White House had thought it had until September, when military commanders are to give an assessment of Iraq.
But most senators now believe troops should start coming home within the next few months, and House Republicans are calling to revive the independent Iraq Study Group to give the nation new options. Domenici said things are getting worse, not better, in Iraq. “I am unwilling to continue our current strategy,” he said. The war was not a mistake, but it did not go the way it was planned, Domenici said. There are “shortcomings on the part of the U.S. and Defense Department,” he said. American troops have not failed, he said. “It is the Iraqi government that is failing to make even modest progress to help Iraq itself,” he said.
Domenici also said parents of New Mexico’s military war dead in the past told him that the United States should stay in Iraq as long as it takes. Now, he said, some parents have asked him to do more to bring the troops back home sooner. Domenici said he has not talked to the Bush administration about his call for a shift in strategy.
We already have surrendercrats. Looks like we have some defeatocons now.
First time I've heard that. Have I been under a rock? Personally, I'd like to see us fight the war as if we wanted to win the war. The surge is an effort in that direction, and I support it.
Running for reelection in ‘08. Wants to keep his job.
I believe he was also for the immigration bill. Batting 1,000 for the American people.
He doesn’t know the difference between strategy and tactics. Dumbass.
Why is it that the first things these morons always do is run to the cameras and microphones. Makes me sick.
These weenies force us out of Iraq, the next time we can use the military to intervene anywhere it will be in Texas.
How about...NO more PCness. NO more "hearts and minds" crap. NO more politicians (Pentagon and Congressional) trying to run the war like a cotillion.
How about...getting the entire "chattering class" out of the way, and letting America's bravest and finest (our troops) do the job they always do best: WIN!
How about...employing a Jackson/Sherman/Patton military strategy that BREAKS the Islamofascists' will to fight. Stop tying our warriors' hands.
How about...letting the Islamothugs know that WE will settle for nothing less than victory, if we must kill every damn one of them.
First time I've heard that. Have I been under a rock?
It would appear that you have been under a rock. Either that are you haven't been reading. But then you can always say, "those polls don't mean anything, they haven't called me". Which is it?
We are going to pull out and it will start this fall, bet on it!
Republicans are running scared with the election coming up next year. The Dems have several bills coming up to either cut off funding or mandating a drawdown starting in March. Looks like some Republicans will be joining them.
Well, I guess we know who is running for reelection next year...
It makes no sense to me to plan tgo do something eight months in the future based on an assessment made seven months ago. Find a primary challenger for Domenici. He’s too old, anyway. He will never win again.
Maybe idiot harry was right for the wrong reasons, I would not want my family fighting under this congress and that goes for the majority and the minority
Bingo! In discussions, they always make it out to be two choices, you are either for Bush or want to bring troop home. There's no "let's fight a war for real" option. Iraq has been a mess ever since the politicans got involved. They "negotiated" with Muqtada Al-Sadr and let Islam be a basis for law in the Constitution. I'd also like to add:
How about...Stop the overzealous prosecution our troops for doing their job. Stop taking testimony from "civilians" and throwing brave Marines in the brig to lanquish.
Well, he's got huge problems at home, over his immigration stand. Granted he did finally vote against it, but not without many angry New Mexicans contacting him and telling him if he supported it, he would lose this election. What I told him is that "there will be Hell to pay", and that "the RINOS who got booted in the last election should have shown him that we are fed up with business as usual."
Quite honestly, I was very surprised that he finally voted against it. He is so pro amnesty that he actually wrote his own immigration legislation and it was ten times worse that the one Kennedy, McCain, Graham, Bush, et. al. wrote!
We made a difference because of the power of American citizens and we must never forget what we accomplished because the traitors are in the process of regrouping to come at us again!
And stop treating our brave fighting men like criminals.
The French didn't surrender in WWII, they developed a new strategy that moved their troops out of combat operations.
the Senator supports the killing of more American soldiers by publicly announcing his own personal sense of weakness and encouraging enemies of our soldiers to escalate their attacks.
Since that is roughly the schedule, might as well jump on the bandwagon, and being a politician confers the right to name the bandwagon for yourself.
“I do not support an immediate withdrawal from Iraq or a reduction in funding for our troops or a reduction in funding for our troops,” he said. “But I do support a new strategy that will move our troops out of combat operations and on the path to coming home.”
There were rumors of some kind of compromise between the Whitehouse and the Democrats trying to be worked out in the Senate. This might be it.
These new strategy politicians never seem to come up with a viable solution... always some lame happy talk..
I support a change in strategy too. How about Americans unite to win?
Amen to that.
Imagine a truly United States........
Petie is SENILE!
In the end it will all come down to numbers. Bush simply will not have enough members of Congress, specifically Republicans, supporting his strategy in Iraq. The higher the body count rises in Iraq the more Congress wants to see a departure from Iraq.
This has almost nothing to do with Bush anymore. I don’t think there is much he can do. Congress will eventually force a change.
Amen! Of course, fighting a real war (for victory) isn't something that would even occur to MSM talkingheads—who are of course water-carriers for the aforesaid politicians standing in the way of winning.
Frustrating, ain't it...
Good Lord, thank you for NOT having these "men" in charge of our war effort during World War II.
For whatever his faults, Lord, thanks for the guts of Harry Truman and Franklin Roosevelt, who decided the defeat of totalitarians in Germany and Japan and Italy was the MISSION of our nation, and that unless we beat them--even if we had to temporarily make nice with other bad guys like the Soviets--the world their grandchildren of the 21st century would be a much darker one!
THINK ABOUT IT, FOLKS!
If we didn't have grandpas and grandmas with GUTS and DETERMINATION, the world we'd have now could likely be one ruled by a protege/successor of Hiter....
When I think of the PANSIES we have in government now, it makes me SICK to think of the world we'll give our grandchildren: one where if terrorists KEEP FIGHTING US FOR A LONG LONG TIME, we pull out and give up.
Hell, by that time we may not HAVE a nation to defend....the kids will be required to go down and watch the beheadings and the "re-educated" go through their drills down at the local soccer pitch.
His job? If we keep up that sort of thing for long, he, like the rest of us Infidels, will be lucky to keep his head.
Do I hear correctly? He would revert to the policy that Bush was trying to follow in 2006, except that he would do it with fewer troops. That is only possible if Bush’s present strategy works.
That might be a little pessimist, BUT it'll start by Christmas fer sure.
The IEDs and Islamakazies will start showing up here by Spring.
PRESS RELEASES OF SENATOR PETE DOMENICI
Domenici, Pushed by Iraqi Government Failures, Supports New U.S. Military Strategy
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
http://domenici.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?ref=1&id=278341
He's my Senator..he voted no on shamnesty when it was obvious it was going down. He's running against Bush now in Bill Richardson's state in order to be re-elected.
Right on, NRA..Using your post for a NM ping!
this is sad
I agree. The only ‘rah rah sis boom bah’ cheerleaders will be relegated to the fringes, like people who posts on sites like this.
Dubya has nobody to blame for the loss of confidence in his leadership. He has been a remarkably inept leader for a couple of years now. He needed to get on the ball in mid 2005 and he didn’t. It’s mid 2007 and he is the punchline to a bad joke.
We will begin pulling out of Iraq before 2007 is up, is my guess. And disaster will follow in that region.
Domenici is getting soft in his old age. Time to retire and help his brother run his gun shop on Menaul (Charlie’s).
Does our base support our warriors?? We shall truly see over the next several days, weeks and months.
You're wrong on all accounts. For starters we will not be pulling out of Iraq in 07 - Not at all - Furthermore we will have sizable force in Iraq for the next half-dozen years (as we should). As we have in SK, Japan and throughout Europe.
Furthermore our POTUS/CINC is far from the punch line of a bad joke. The man has dealt with a tremendous amount as POTUS. He has literally dragged this nation and the world into understanding we must fight this war. We must stay on the offensive (which we are throughout the ME, SE Asia to the Horn of Africa).
You couldn't be more wrong about Iraq or the changes that are happening on the ground in a number of places throughout the ME. Is is our enemies who are on their heels. (just as the USSR fell much quicker then most suspected.....the same is true of our enemies. They are much worse off then talking heads want to suggest).
Pull all the Americans out to a safe distance, then nuke the whole middle east. As a Brit general said, let God sort out the good ones.
We will see.
Would these idiots PLEASE shut up until September, at least, when General Petraeus gives a progress report? The troop surge has barely started, and we ARE seeing positive results.
First, decide how you measure success; second, measure it; third, wait and measure again. Fourth, don't change the measure/standard or else risk losing support.
Evidently they can’t wait for the attacks to begin over here.
We are now fighting them, or they are fighting us, over there. When our troops are withdrawn back to the U.S. they will be followed by the islamics who along with the ones that are over here now will begin setting off bombs everywhere.
I understand that the liberals, communists, Democrats, and the main stream media are eagerly awaiting this to happen.
What they haven’t thought about is this will cause the economy to tank and the pukes thatr are demonestrating about how good islam is and how evil the U.S. is will have to spend that time searching for something to eat.
I would not doubt it.
From what I have seen the American public has been bitten by the surrender bug.
A few individuals on this forum understand what a mistake this will be.
The vast majority of the American public does not understand the consequences of pulling out of Iraq.
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