Bill to Give Troops Extra Rest Fails
Senate Republicans have once again rejected an effort to give U.S. troops extra time at home between their combat stints. The proposal, co-sponsored by war veterans Jim Webb of Virginia and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, was blocked with a 56-to-44 vote, short of the 60 votes needed to advance. The measure would have required the military to allow troops to remain on leave for at least as long as they were most recently deployed before going back to war.
The bill, viewed by many as the Democrats' best chance to affect war policy, was doomed by a joint effort from the Bush administration and the Pentagon, which convinced a number of wavering Republicans, including the other senator from Virginia, John Warner, to kill it. Although there are a number of other Iraq measures in the pipe, they are unlikely to go anywhere.
"I don't think there's going to be any meaningful change of votes or switching until we get into next year," Hagel told The Washington Post.
Republicans took a chance in defeating the measure. While the vote will make military leaders happy, it may not please the families of troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are already signs that more troops are shifting their support to the Democrats.
But Democrats don't have the anti-war vote in the bag. Politico reports that anti-war groups are furious over the lack of progress and may target Democrats they consider too weak in their support of anti-war measures in next year's primaries. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reportedly met with leaders of the movement this week to try to pacify them.
The Reid mission reflected the paradox bedeviling the anti-war movement. It is powerful enough to command constant care and feeding by the Democratic Party's presidential candidates and congressional leaders. But so far it has proven largely impotent in forcing policy changes.
It's going to be an interesting election year.
9:45 AM ET | 09-20-2007 | permalink
