With poll numbers showing that the public is increasingly dissatisfied with the war in Iraq, congressional Democrats plan to press ahead with efforts to legislate an end to the conflict, despite a mixed progress report delivered Monday by Gen. David Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S ambassador to Iraq.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called a proposal by Petraeus to withdraw 30,000 troops from Iraq by July 2008 “simply unacceptable.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the plan “is not in our national interest.”
But Democrats have not agreed on what to do next, and it seems less likely they will have enough Republican support to get any major anti-war bill passed into law.
“Strictly through a political lens, this helps the Republicans,” said Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., citing the troop withdrawal plans by Petraeus and his assessment that the military has made progress in Iraq.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House and Senate will meet with President Bush on Tuesday to discuss the war.
“Democrats are going to have to get together to talk about how to move forward,” said Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., a member of the HouseForeign Affairs Committee, one of two panels that met jointly to hear several hours of testimony delivered by Petraeus and Crocker.
Crowley and other Democrats predicted Petraeus’ proposal to withdraw some troops would not be enough to satisfy their party’s rank and file.
“This is a bit more of a punting down the road,” Crowley said.
“I do not think Petraeus’ proposal is going to go down well with the American people,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., one of the strongest anti-war voices in the Democratic caucus.
Pelosi expressed her commitment to push anti-war legislation in a meeting with House Democrats last week, telling members she believes low poll ratings for Congress are related to the unpopular conflict.
“There is no question that the speaker understands that the Democrats are going to have to show leadership with our commitment to get us out of this war,” Schakowsky said. “It’s just a matter of when members feel this is a threat to their re-election. I think that will be sooner, rather than later.”
Many Republicans, though, were optimistic about the testimony.
“What this has managed to do is give the public a sense that there is a road to success, but that it is not going to be easy,” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla.
One Southern Republican House member said the testimony “buys six more months” for GOP moderates who are under intense pressure to do more to end the war.
But at least one moderate Republican, Rep. Michael Castle of Delaware, remained critical of the war due to the failure of Iraqis to reconcile their political and sectarian differences.
“We must have a plan for the post-surge redeployment of U.S. forces, and I will continue to work with my colleagues — Republicans and Democrats — to bridge the political divide and bring about real substantive change in Iraq,” Castle said.
