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Analysis: Iraq Timetable Debate Resurfaces

Council on Foreign Relations

Updated: June 19, 2006
Prepared by: Robert McMahon

Congress is set to continue the partisan debate over the course of the Iraq war this week with Democrats in the Senate proposing a "phased redeployment" that sets a timetable for a U.S. troop drawdown (CNN). A White House spokesman says a pullout would be disastrous (Bloomberg). For their part, Iraqi leaders have stressed the importance of the U.S. military presence in maintaining security while acknowledging the need to assume more responsibility. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told a meeting at CFR on Friday that a chief priority of the new government in Baghdad is to assume control of security matters.

The Senate debate, starting Tuesday, picks up from a sometimes rancorous discussion in the House of Representatives that ended in a vote for a nonbinding resolution rejecting a timetable for withdrawal (NYT). Last week's session offered the first chance for the House to formally debate military operations in Iraq since before the war. But Democrats cried foul, saying the resolution provided cover for administration mistakes in Iraq (LAT). In the Senate last week, Republicans sought to preempt Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) plan to propose a withdrawal from Iraq, offering a resolution testing that idea. The measure was overwhelmingly defeated, but Kerry said he would formally introduce his plan this week.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2006 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.