{"id":1935,"date":"2007-07-05T12:12:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-05T18:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/07\/domenici-wants-new-reduced-u-s-mission-in-iraq\/"},"modified":"2007-07-05T12:12:00","modified_gmt":"2007-07-05T18:12:00","slug":"domenici-wants-new-reduced-u-s-mission-in-iraq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/07\/domenici-wants-new-reduced-u-s-mission-in-iraq\/","title":{"rendered":"Domenici wants new, reduced U.S. mission in Iraq"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici<\/a> has decided to support a redeployment of many American troops from Iraq by March 2008 as part of a new, reduced mission in that war-torn country. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The GOP senator from New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> announced today that he has decided to cosponsor legislation that would call for the implementation of many of the Iraq Study Group<\/a> recommendations. The move represents a major shift for Domenici, who up until now has supported President Bush<\/a> in backing a controversial troop surge and opposing a timetable for withdrawal.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI am calling for a new strategy that will move our troops out of combat operations,\u201d Domenici said. \u201cThis should result in a significant reduction in combat missions for U.S.<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> troops and place more of a burden where it belongs \u2013 on the Iraqis.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The move is certain to upset Bush allies, but will also bolster Domenici\u2019s re-election bid.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Domenici said he changed his mind over the course of the last two weeks as it became clear that the Iraqi government is not meeting benchmarks that were to accompany the American troop surge. In addition, he spoke recently with the parents of fallen soldiers who urged a policy shift.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Domenici said he continues to support American troops, and his shift doesn\u2019t mean he believes they have failed. But, considering that American troops are suffering and dying, Domenici said he is \u201cunwilling to continue our current strategy\u201d when Iraqis fail \u201cto even make modest progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Under the plan laid out in Senate Bill 1545<\/a>, \u201call United States combat brigades not necessary for force protection could be redeployed from Iraq by the first quarter of 2008,\u201d except those that are essential for security, training of Iraqi forces, counterterrorism and \u201crapid reaction and special operations\u201d as necessary.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Essentially, that would mean that Iraqis would be running the war, with support from the United States<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, instead of the opposite, which is what\u2019s currently happening.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The bill, which has a bipartisan group of 11 sponsors, also calls for a comprehensive diplomatic, political and economic strategy \u201cthat includes sustained engagement with Iraq<\/st1:country-region>\u2019s neighbors and the international community for the purpose of working collectively to bring stability to Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Domenici said he is \u201cnot going to say\u201d the war was a mistake, but said it \u201cdidn\u2019t go the way it was planned.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t work in its current role,\u201d he said, adding that it\u2019s not too late to try to bring positive change out of the situation. He\u2019s now trying to make that happen.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m joining with a group of senators that have good ideas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\n

Support for Bush strategy eroding<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Domenici\u2019s shift follows those of GOP Sens. Richard Lugar<\/a> of Indiana<\/st1:state> and George Voinovich<\/a> of Ohio<\/st1:state>, who both said last week that it\u2019s time to begin moving troops out of Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>. Domenici\u2019s shift is a further sign that Republican support for Bush\u2019s Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> strategy is eroding.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It also comes as the latest CNN poll<\/a> finds that two-thirds of Americans, including 38 percent of Republicans, oppose the war, and 63 percent, including 42 percent of Republicans, favor withdrawing at least some troops from Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The move is certain to help Domenici\u2019s 2008 re-election bid. The newest SurveyUSA poll<\/a> gave Domenici a 51 percent approval rating \u2013 the lowest in the history of the monthly poll that goes back to May 2005. His new approach to the war is certain to resonate in his purple home state.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Domenici has three lesser-known Democratic challengers thus far – Don Wiviott<\/a>, Jim Hannan<\/a> and Leland Lehrman<\/a> \u2013 but many suspect that Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a>, if his presidential campaign fails, could jump into the race, and is perhaps the only Democrat with a real shot at beating Domenici.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> says he\u2019ll keep his job at governor if he doesn\u2019t win the Democratic nomination for president, but he has threatened to run against Domenici in the past.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place>\u2019s two Democrats in Washington \u2013 Sen. Jeff Bingaman<\/a> and Rep. Tom Udall<\/a> \u2013 have long opposed the war. Republican Rep. Heather Wilson<\/a> was one of the first GOP members to express doubts about Bush\u2019s war strategy, but has, to this point, backed the president.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Republican Rep. Steve Pearce<\/a> has, from the beginning, been the strongest supporter among the New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place> delegation of Bush\u2019s strategy. He backed the troop surge and opposed any timetable for withdrawal. After a visit to Iraq<\/st1:country-region> in February, he said he was upbeat about the surge, but also said \u201cwe must see concrete results in Baghdad<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The current Bush plan calls for a review of the success of the surge in September. Domenici said at today\u2019s news conference that he wasn\u2019t willing to wait that long when American soldiers are continuing to suffer and it\u2019s already clear that the Iraqi government isn\u2019t holding up its end of the bargain.<\/p>\n

\n

Update, 3:40 p.m.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The Democrats are on the attack. In a news release, the Democratic Party of New Mexico<\/a> called Domenici\u2019s shift an \u201celection season political makeover.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy was $440 billion spent before Senator Domenici could acknowledge what Senator Bingaman and Congressman Udall realized more than four years ago?\u201d Party Chairman Brian Col\u00f3n asked in the release. \u201c\u2026 When the U.S. Senate reconvenes, will your rhetoric be backed by meaningful legislative action, or is this just another attempt at a re-election conversion in response to your lowest poll ratings in decades?\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The answer to the second question is easy: Domenici is co-sponsoring the legislation.<\/p>\n

\n

Update, 5:10 p.m.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In an interview, Udall said the shift of Domenici and other Republicans \u201cmeans we\u2019re going to start to wind this down and end this unfortunate conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

He said he has already seen signs that the president knows it\u2019s time to change directions, and said he believes other Republicans who haven\u2019t come out publicly against Bush\u2019s strategy have privately shared such sentiments with the president.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThe writing has been on the wall that many Republicans were going to come around to the position that this is a misguided policy,\u201d Udall said. \u201cI think now that major Republican players have come out for a change, that will show the president that he needs to change direction.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici has decided to support a redeployment of many American troops from Iraq by March 2008 as part of a new, reduced mission in that war-torn country. The GOP senator from New Mexico announced today that he has decided to cosponsor legislation that would call for the implementation of many of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1935\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}