Bipartisan group introduces redeployment plan bill in Senate

A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation late Thursday that would require the Bush administration to send a report on its Iraq redeployment plans to Congress and continuously update the information.

{mosads}The bill is the companion to a measure passed earlier this week in the House with broad bipartisan support. That measure, championed by Reps. John Tanner (D-Tenn.), Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) and Phil English (R-Pa.), sailed through the House with a vote of 377-46.

The Senate bill is sponsored by Sens. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), George Voinovich (R-Ohio), Jim Webb (D-Va.) and Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.).

Salazar called the measure an “important first step” that would help “find a new way forward in Iraq.”

The bill calls on the Department of Defense to deliver a report to Congress on the status of redeployment plans 60 days after the legislation’s enactment and every 90 days after that.

“Conducting oversight of the government, the administration and the war is not only our responsibility — it is our duty,” Voinovich said. “This bill allows us to fulfill that duty.”

Clinton’s inclusion in the list of sponsors will help the measure gain attention. As the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, the media spotlight is always on her, especially on an issue such as the war in Iraq.

“The roots of the many problems facing our men and women serving in Iraq were planted by the failure of this administration to develop sound, realistic plans. We cannot afford to repeat the same mistake when our forces redeploy,” Clinton said. “Redeploying out of Iraq will be difficult and requires careful planning. The administration must provide a redeployment strategy that will keep our brave men and women safe as they leave Iraq.”

It would be a feather in Clinton’s cap to be part of a successful bipartisan effort on Iraq because it would show her working across party lines to tackle a pressing issue.

The measure gives Republicans who are unhappy with Bush’s Iraq policy a chance to voice their concerns without supporting the mandatory troop withdrawal deadlines that many Democrats favor.

“I have long maintained that our country needs a new direction in Iraq that sets the stage for a significant but responsible drawdown of our combat troops and that encourages a lasting political solution to the sectarian violence engulfing Baghdad,” Collins said.

Added Dole: “This bipartisan measure is a positive step forward. The American people and the Iraqi government need to know that our commitment in Iraq is not open-ended. It is my hope that by next spring, units not withdrawn from Iraq could be reassigned to border security, training and support roles.”