Lieberman Rejects New Democratic Compromise on Iraq

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20070907/pl_bloomberg/advafcoy6m4

Lieberman Rejects New Democratic Compromise on Iraq

Janine Zacharia Fri Sep 7, 6:27 PM ET

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Joseph Lieberman opposed a compromise measure suggested by top Senate Democrats that would mandate a starting date for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq while imposing no deadline for completing the pullout.


Senator Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the Armed Services Committee, has proposed the less- restrictive measure as a compromise move to entice Republicans and others who, while skeptical of the war, haven't backed earlier Democratic proposals to force a withdrawal.

Lieberman, a Connecticut independent and ardent supporter of a continued troop presence in Iraq, said he won't support Levin's plan. ``The answer is a respectful no,'' Lieberman, 65, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's ``Political Capital with Al Hunt'' scheduled to air this weekend.

Lieberman's opposition makes it less likely that Levin's measure, co-sponsored with Rhode Island Democrat Jack Reed, could muster the 60 Senate votes needed to defeat a threatened Republican filibuster or the 67 required to override a presidential veto.