WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans dueled over the Iraq war in the Senate on Wednesday, exchanging rhetorical jabs as each side sought political advantage on a debate many strategists believed could be a decisive factor in determining which party would control Congress after the November elections.
The debate -- prompted by two Democratic measures calling for the drawdown of U.S. troops, one that proposes a full withdrawal by next summer -- is unlikely to have a direct impact on the conduct of the war.
But as election season approaches and polls show rising public unease over the war, Democrats are eager to cast blame on the GOP's war policies, and Republicans are eager to cast doubt on the Democrats' resolve.
"Too often, the Bush administration deals simply in slogans, and we have heard them so often, so many times: 'Mission accomplished,' 'Stay the course,' 'Don't cut and run,' " said Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), coauthor of one of the proposals. "But a military operation like this requires much more than slogans."
Reed's proposal, cosponsored by Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and believed to have the support of a strong majority of Democratic senators, urges President Bush to begin a "phased redeployment" of troops from Iraq by the end of this year but does not set a deadline for complete withdrawal.
A more sweeping measure offered by Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.) called for Bush to remove all troops from Iraq by July 1, 2007.
Republicans attacked both proposals as wrongheaded.
"I would ask our colleagues who counsel retreat, who counsel self-defeatism: What do they think is going to happen if we leave Iraq prematurely, before the Iraqi security forces can defend themselves and that new democracy?" Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said. "That power void would be filled by those who are currently fighting and killing innocent people in Iraq."
Votes on the two measures, amendments to a defense policy bill, are expected today.
With Democrats holding only 44 of the Senate's 100 seats, neither amendment is expected to pass. But the vote count -- especially on the Levin-Reed amendment, supported by the Democratic leadership -- is considered an important barometer of party unity.
Republicans derided the Democrats as indecisive, citing the two amendments as evidence.
