Warner's timing--Since when are Repukes not on the same page.

[European Socialist]

John Warner calling for troop withdrawls upstaged those sickening pro-war tv ads that aired in the past few days. Since when do things go our way? Or is it some kind of trick?

[Xipe Totec]

1. I think somebody just lost a ring

[global1]

2. Appears Staged To Me........

* digs in. Warner wants out of Iraq. Timing is everything. Repugs to distance themselves from the pResident. Pull out troops by Christmas. Election year coming up. Coincidence - I think not. The Choreographed Presidency.

[rodeodance]

4. He only Suggested to Bush (says it is up to Bush) to out only 5000 by xmas.

[TwilightGardener]

3. It's a trick. I don't think they do ANYTHING without coordination.

That said, I think Warner doesn't like the situation in Iraq, and hasn't for a while, but he's still all too willing to hand his nutsack over to his Dear Leader when it comes to votes.

[bryant69]

5. Repukes are individuals

Same as us. I mean there is a bit more party discipline normally, but given President Bush's lack of coat-tails it's not surprising that he can't hold them together.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[Postman]

6. Read this assessment....

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/

Shall We Dance?

by digby

[marmar]

7. Just what I was thinking....

It's a good cop/bad cop act

[Arkansas Granny]

8. I think it's all smoke and mirrors. They've already admitted that

the surge can't be maintained, so this just allows them to act like they are bowing to the will of "the people" when they know that they are going to have to reduce troop strength in Iraq anyway. IMO, this is just a CYA moment for the Republicans.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The sober assessment of U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker is just the latest acknowledgment that, while the additional U.S. troops are making parts of Iraq safer, Iraqi politicians, in particular the government of Nouri al-Maliki, have been unwilling or unable to use the hard-won breathing space to put their differences behind them.

<snip>

MCINTYRE: Pentagon officials concede the surge can't be sustained beyond April without posing severe hardships on the Army. So, U.S. troop strength will likely return to at least pre-surge levels by the late spring.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0708/21/ldt.01.html


The head of the U.S. army says the military can sustain the current surge of forces in Iraq until next spring without changing deployment policies. But the general says it will take longer than that to create a stable society in Iraq. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

General George Casey told the National Press Club he wants to ease the strain on the U.S. army by ending the extended 15-month deployments to combat zones. But he says he will not be able to do that until the U.S. troop commitment to Iraq comes down.

There are currently about 162,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, most of them from the army. General Casey noted that the number will come down automatically in the spring when the deployments of the extra forces sent earlier this year expire, unless there is an order to send more troops to replace them.

"The surge was and remains a temporary function," said General Casey. "I think we're on record here as saying the surge can be sustained through the spring without changes to the existing mobilization and deployment policies. And that's where we are. And we're going to wait and see here what happens, what our commanders on the ground recommend in the coming months."

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2007/08/mil-070814-voa04.htm