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11/16/2005:

"Republicans echo opposition call for plan on US troop withdrawal"

Normally loyal Republican senators have stepped up their pressure on the White House over Iraq, demanding the Bush administration set out its plans to end the war, and insisting that within 12 months Iraq's own forces take the lead in the battle against insurgents.

Ostensibly, the plan seeks to head off a rival Democratic demand for a fixed timetable for a US withdrawal - something George Bush has always rejected on the grounds it would amount to "cut and run", and thus a victory for America's enemies.

In other respects, the Republican text is very similar to that of their opponents, which was defeated in a vote last night, denoting a new readiness by the Senate as a whole to challenge the handling of the war. It was a "potential turning point" in congressional attitudes to Iraq, Joseph Lieberman, the Connecticut Democrat, said.

For Republicans, moreover, the plan is the clearest sign yet of party unease at an ever more unpopular war, which has dragged down Mr Bush's approval ratings to record lows, and threatens the party's grip on Congress at next year's mid-term elections.

Under the scheme, the administration would have to deliver quarterly reports on the progress of the war, and the prospects for "completing the mission in Iraq" and pulling out US troops. The difference, essentially, is that Democrats want "estimated dates" for such a withdrawal, subject to the fulfilment of various conditions on the ground. For Republicans, this formulation would be a timetable by another name.
independent.co.uk