What a difference in political climate a few months, and a new Majority, can make: Sen Warner is coming out in full scale opposition to the surge.
From Think Progress:
Sen. John Warner (R-VA) will introduce a resolution today "making clear that he does not support the President on increasing the troop levels in Iraq" and calling escalation "a mistake," CNN’s Dana Bash reports. Warner’s resolution will be cosponsored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ben Nelson (D-NE).
Warner, the former Armed Services Committee chairman, is a "very influential voice when it comes to military matters," Bash reports, and until this fall had been "whole-heartedly behind the president and the war." His new resolution "certainly...is not going to sit well with the White House." Watch it:
Warner said last week that Congress must move swiftly to address President Bush’s new strategy. "Each of us are pained by the casualties that we are taking. We cannot dither around on it." Warner’s bill is viewed as a less confrontational alternative to the Iraq resolution backed by Sens. Joe Biden (D-DE), Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Carl Levin (D-MI).
As Think Progress mentions, Warner is an old-guard Republican, especially respected on his knowledge of military affairs. This is a big loss for the Bush Administration, because he provides a lot of cover for other Republicans to come out in public against the surge. Expect some fallout from this one.
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