The Political Chase

Reid Gets Tough on Iraq

Bush’s smart-aleck remark about Harry Reid yesterday must have really ticked him off, because Reid has abruptly withdrawn his “compromise” position on Iraq. He’s playing hardball — at least for now — and taking a no timeline, no funding, no excuses approach.

Despite earlier suggestions from Senate Democrats that they would offer compromise legislation to change course in Iraq that could win the support of Republicans, Senate Democrats announced Tuesday afternoon that they were forgoing any softer language in their bills and would introduce Iraq-related legislation as aggressive as that in previous bills — including two that called for withdrawing U.S. combat troops.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced Tuesday afternoon that the Senate would vote this week on legislation ranging from extending the time troops are allowed to spend at home between tours — a bill that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has suggested should be vetoed — to one that would mandate the withdrawal of almost all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by June 2008, a bill President Bush would unquestionably veto.

Furthermore, Reid is not going to allow do-nothing amendments with suggested withdrawal guidelines to be introduced. For example, Reid pulled the Salazar-Alexander bill, which ever so politely suggests the Iraq Study Group recommendations. That should could the GOP hardliners stirred up for a bit.