‘The Republicans Own This War,’ Senate Can’t Pass Troop Rest Bill

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Democrats in the Senate were disappointed by the 56-43 vote on a proposal that would have allowed U.S. military troops in Iraq more time at home between deployments.

Falling four votes short of the 60-vote majority needed to prevent a Republican filibuster, the Democrats thought they had a chance of passing the measure.

But they were delivered a blow when Republican John Warner (R-VA) withdrew his support for the plan, which he had pledged to support. "I endorsed it," said Warner on the Senate floor. "I intend now to cast a vote against it."

Some claim that Republicans who had been wavering and may have supported the initiative were heavily lobbied by the White House, which opposed it.

The proposal was a bipartisan effort, drafted by Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE), and would have guaranteed that American military personnel serving in Iraq would receive periods of time served at home which were as long as their Iraq deployments.

A disappointed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) told reporters, "In blocking this bipartisan bill, Republicans have once again demonstrated that they are more committed to protecting the president than protecting our troops."

But Republicans countered that notion, saying that the effort by the Democrats was simply a "back door" effort to begin pulling troops out of Iraq. Said Senator John MCain (R-Ariz), to the press, "Every one of us care about the men and women who are serving in the military," adding that allowing troops longer time stateside would hamper the efforts of the U.S. in Iraq by putting a strain on the military.

The latest effort by the Democrats to win support for making any kind of change to the U.S. policy in Iraq marks the eighth time this year they have failed to garner enough Republican votes to avoid a filibuster.

Both of the senators who drafted the bill are Vietnam veterans, and felt that more time near loved ones would help maintain a positive morale for American soldiers.

The Republican co-sponsor of the bill, Chuck Hagel (R-Neb), was frustrated by the vote. "The humanity of this is lost. It's unfair to continue to load this burden on the same people, deployment after deployment," said Hagel to reporters. "Not only will you ruin your military . . . but you will also have an impact on our society, because a democracy cannot continue to function when you ask 1% to make all the sacrifices and carry all the burdens."

But Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) fought to defeat the bill, saying "The Republicans own this war," adding that Republicans have more to lose than Democrats if the war "goes bad."