Momentum Shifting To GOP In Iraq Debate
With congressional Democrats still groping for a unified Iraq withdrawal strategy, the eyewitness reports from individual Democratic lawmakers who've recently visited Iraq appear to have changed the dynamic in the debate over the war. The Kansas City Star's "The Buzz," for example, reports Democratic Rep. Brian Baird "saw enough progress on the ground that he will no longer vote for binding withdrawal timelines." Rep. Jerry McNerney "suggested that his trip to Iraq made him more flexible in his search for a bipartisan accord on the war." Also changing his tune is Rep. Tim Mahoney of Florida, who says the troop increase 'has really made a difference and really has gotten al-Qaida on their heels.'" As the Washington Post says this morning, "Democratic leaders in Congress had planned to use August recess to raise the heat on Republicans to break with...Bush on the Iraq war." Instead, "Democrats have been forced to recalibrate their own message in the face of recent positive signs on the security front, increasingly focusing their criticisms on what those military gains have not achieved: reconciliation among Iraq's diverse political factions."
Republican leaders and Administration officials are looking on with interest at the newly found Democratic support for the troop surge. A GOP congressional aide tells the Political Bulletin, "We think it is interesting to hear Democrats reluctantly admitting that the surge has been a tactical success. It's fascinating considering the ride they've been on since January and that all Democrats in Congress voted to condemn the surge in one form or fashion." Republicans are speculating that with the recent drop in blockbuster attacks and American troop deaths in Iraq, the Democrats are a bit concerned that pushing for an immediate withdrawal might appear defeatist. Sen. Hillary Clinton was the latest to say that the new tactics are working, though she still wants troops returned home. The GOP sees some of the comments about the troop surge as a way for Democrats to adjust to the changing character of the war in advance of the Petraeus report. But Republicans are not going to let voters forget about prior Democratic attacks on the war, though they are promoting the new Democratic comments on the surge in talking points sent to supporters, updated as recently as yesterday with pro-surge comments from Michigan Democrat Sen. Carl Levin.
Also suggesting a potential momentum change, the Washington Post reports on "an advertising blitz from Bush supporters determined to remain on offense. A new pressure group, Freedom's Watch, will unveil a month-long, $15 million television, radio and grass-roots campaign today designed to shore up support for Bush's policies before the commander of US forces in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, lays out a White House assessment of the war's progress." Ari Fleischer, the former Bush White House press secretary who is "helping to head Freedom's Watch," said yesterday, "For people who believe in peace through strength, the cavalry is coming." On the other hand, USA Today says "a coalition called Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, which includes such liberal groups as MoveOn.org, the Center for American Progress and the Service Employees International Union," has "spent $12 million on its 'Iraq summer' campaign."
Bush Takes The Offensive The Administration is now taking the offensive in the run-up to Gen. David Petraeus' testimony to Congress on September 11th, with Bush citing the example of the aftermath of Vietnam in a speech today to warn against a "hasty" withdrawal. USA Today reports that in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention today, President Bush "plans to argue today that a hasty 'retreat' from Iraq would lead to the kinds of bloodbaths that followed US withdrawals from Vietnam and Cambodia in the 1970s." The Wall Street Journal reports that as Bush departed the summit of North American leaders in Canada, "the White House released excerpts of his planned remarks, apparently in an effort to generate public interest." AFP reports Bush "was to charge...on Wednesday that advocates of a US withdrawal from Iraq would 'pull the rug out' from under US troops whose efforts are paying off."
The Washington Times reports Bush aide Ed Gillespie "said that 'much debate and discussion will follow' the progress report on Iraq next month and that Mr. Bush's speeches 'will provide broader context for this long-term debate.'" The New York Sun reports the speech also "will refer to World War II, saying, 'The question now before us comes down to this: Will today's generation of Americans resist the deceptive allure of retreat - and do in the Middle East what veterans in this room did in Asia?'"
In another indication of the Administration's effort to shift the debate, Bush is expressing dissatisfaction with the Iraqi government itself. Speaking to reporters Tuesday at the North American Leaders Summit in Canada, President Bush voiced what media reports are calling his harshest criticism to date of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Some reports are casting Bush's remarks as a strategic move designed to change his overall message on the war. For example, in a front page analysis titled "US Takes A Step Away From Maliki," the New York Times says Bush's remark "was not quite the vote of no confidence delivered by" Sen. Carl Levin on Monday, but it was seen as "a striking attempt by the White House to distance itself from the Maliki government before" the September progress report on Iraq.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune quotes Bush saying, "Clearly, the Iraqi government's got to do more." Under the headline "Bush Turns Up Heat On Maliki," the Washington Post reports on its front page that Bush "pointedly declined Tuesday to offer a public endorsement" of Maliki, instead "expressing his disappointment at the lack of political progress in Iraq." The AP said that when they "met in Jordan last November, the president called al-Maliki 'the right guy for Iraq.' Now, he continually prods al-Maliki to do more to forge political reconciliation before the temporary military buildup ends." USA Today, McClatchy, Washington Post, AFP, Financial Times and the Washington Times also report the story.
Congress' Approval At Record Low
USNWR
