Arkansans react to war-policy report
Posted on Friday, December 1, 2006
WASHINGTON - The expected recommendation of the Iraq Study Group for a major withdrawal of American forces from Iraq reflects a growing public mood that staying the course is no longer an option, several members of the Arkansas congressional delegation said Thursday.
"We can't just keep waiting to make a decision. We've got to stop playing these political games at home,"Sen. Blanche Lincoln said. "It is time to transition now."
Fellow Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor said: "The sense the American people have about Iraq is, we are not making progress."And continuing to use terms such as "' stay the course' is not helpful."
Even Rep. John Boozman, the delegation's only Republican, said: "Patience is growing thin. They [voters ] want to see some results. The president is in a position where the American people expect him to change the course."
Their comments came as Washington policymakers digested reports in The New York Times and The Washington Post about what the bipartisan study group, headed by former Rep. Lee Hamilton of Indiana and former Secretary of State James Baker, would recommend when it delivers its report to President Bush on Wednesday.
Foremost among the recommendations is a call for a major drawdown of U. S. forces beginning next year, although no timetable is specified, the two newspapers said.
Meanwhile Thursday, Bush went out of his way to proclaim Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "the right guy for Iraq"during a joint news conference in Amman, Jordan.
Is he ?
"I was impressed with him,"said Pryor, the latest member of the Arkansas delegation to visit Iraq. He was introduced to al-Maliki this fall.
Bush also rejected the Iraq Study Group's anticipated call for a major troop withdrawal, saying the United States would stay in Iraq "so long as the government wants us there."Earlier this week, in Latvia, Bush said," I'm not going to pull the troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete."
But Pryor said the message now is: "It is time for a change. I think this administration needs new ideas."
Lincoln said the Iraq Study Group's recommendation "is something many reasonable people have been asking for. The Iraqis are going to have to vest themselves in their own country."
In large part, Boozman said, the decision that it is time to change course in Iraq "was made in the last election."The Democratic sweep indicated how "frustrated"voters had become, he said.
Pryor, who will sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee when Democrats assume control of the Senate in January, said it is clear to all that the violence in Iraq is out of control. "This war has just not gone the way he [Bush ] thought it would."
Americans, he said," are nervous and anxious."
The other members of the delegation, Democratic Reps. Marion Berry, Mike Ross and Vic Snyder, declined to discuss the reported findings of the Study Group.
Berry, in a statement, said: "We know that now is the time for transition in Iraq. The world community must recognize this as an international problem and reach a consensus on the next steps. We must increase our efforts to restore stability in the country by preparing Iraqi forces to take over operations and renew our focus on diplomacy with other countries in the region."
Ross and Snyder said only that they were looking forward to reading the report.
Every member of the delegation but Lincoln has visited Iraq. Boozman has been there five times.
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