Though many of us would rather see a majority vote in Congress mandating a gradual but timely withdrawal, Jim Webb's sidewinder at least has a chance of knocking down an out-of-control "war presidency" more effectively. Webb offers Republicans cover -- even though we'd rather see them naked and ashamed. Most important, it could save a lot of lives.
The proposal, by Senator Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia, has strong support from top Democrats, who say that the practical effect would be to add time between deployments and force General Petraeus to withdraw troops on a substantially swifter timeline than the one he laid out before Congress this week, and that it would protect troops from serving protracted and debilitating deployments.
Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware and a candidate for president, called the proposal the “easiest way” for his Republican colleagues to change the war strategy on the same day that the Bush administration released a mixed report on the Iraqi government’s progress toward various goals.
Webb's proposal is not new. It was offered in July and defeated -- but by only four votes. With Tim Johnson back and voting, that becomes three votes. With Collins, Specter, Dole and others showing signs that they might defect from their party's hard line, it could pass.
The proposal, by Senator Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia, has strong support from top Democrats, who say that the practical effect would be to add time between deployments and force General Petraeus to withdraw troops on a substantially swifter timeline than the one he laid out before Congress this week, and that it would protect troops from serving protracted and debilitating deployments.
Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware and a candidate for president, called the proposal the “easiest way” for his Republican colleagues to change the war strategy on the same day that the Bush administration released a mixed report on the Iraqi government’s progress toward various goals.
So Defense Secretary Robert Gates is doing everything he can to backstop Webb.
The Pentagon sought on Friday to challenge the Democrats’ approach, with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates saying at a Pentagon news conference that it would only create further hardships for the military, including the prospect of even lengthier tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The New York Times' report on Webb's proposal also implies, gloomily, that the president's Thursday night speech may have changed some minds in his favor. But the Times offers no substantiation, saying only that the Nielsen ratings for the speech were high and the Washington Post's editorial pages liked the new White House plan.
Standing in the way of a bipartisan effort is the Pentagon.
The Pentagon’s opposition to the Webb measure could make it harder for Republican senators who voted against the plan in July to change their position. But Mr. Webb, in a telephone interview on Friday, said he believed that prospects had improved. “I had people like Senator Murkowski come to me even before the Petraeus testimony and say that she regretted that she had voted the other way,” he said, referring to Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, who has repeated Democratic entreaties.
