Citing military plans, Rep. Maxine Waters declares a victory for Out of Iraq Caucus
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) declared a victory for the 72-member Out of Iraq Caucus yesterday, calling recent reports of military plans to reduce troops in Iraq evidence that the administration had heeded her group’s calls to withdraw U.S. forces.
The all-Democratic, anti-war caucus has been pushing the administration to adopt a plan by Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) to redeploy troops out of the country “at the earliest practicable date.” Waters argued that a military plan prepared by Gen. George Casey, the top military commander in Iraq, is “virtually identical” to Murtha’s proposal....
“For more than a year, the Out of Iraq Caucus has been actively pushing for the Bush administration to figure out an end game, get the job done and bring the troops home,” Waters said. “Now, that the White House has embraced the Murtha resolution, which was the proposal pushed by our caucus, the primary focus must remain on making sure our troops have everything they need to complete their mission and to bring them home safely.”...
“Republicans have repeatedly and loudly rejected these
ideas, using military, diplomatic and national-security arguments that have now been exposed as false. Republicans are determined to reject any Democratic ideas, simply because they come from Democrats, and yet the Bush administration is proceeding with planning reductions in our military presence in Iraq immediately before the midterm elections,” Pelosi said in a statement. “When it comes to Iraq, the only schedule that matters to Republicans is the U.S. election schedule.”
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