The Senate is facing a crucial Iraq war vote this week on legislation that requires that U.S. soldiers have as much downtime at home as they spend in Iraq. (Read more details.) A consequence of the legislation, analysts say, is that the current troop levels in Iraq would have to be decreased.
Below, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), speaks about the legislation and reaches out for support:
Just today, GOP Sen. John Warner, one of the most important swing votes, claimed that he is reconsidering his support for Webb's amendment. Greg Sargent reports:
Just when it looked as if Senator Jim Webb's troop readiness bill might pick up enough GOP support to reach the magic number of 60 filibuster-proof votes, we're now getting word that Senator John Warner is reconsidering his backing for it and may vote against it.
So reports the Wall Street Journal in a subscription only article. In a bit of a cruel joke, here's the reason Warner is giving for not backing a measure that would give exhausted troops more rest:
...in an interview Tuesday, the senator said he is "reconsidering his position" in light of the administration's willingness to move closer to him on expediting some reduction in U.S. troop levels this year in Iraq. "It took a lot of convincing to make the first units come home before Christmas," Mr. Warner said. "There is a lot of importance in that."
Read more here.
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