"It is time to bring the war to a close"
I remain underwhelmed by the Democrats' generally and much-ballyhooed legislative agenda for their first 100 hours in office. Who would have guessed that trimming student loan rates was that pressing a national concern? And the fact that the Dems kicked off their new majority with a bunch of lame parties rather than digging right in is hardly inspirational.
So I was surprised–and heartened–to read this in today's Wash Post:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid declared yesterday that "it is time to bring the war to a close" and warned President Bush that sending more U.S. troops to Iraq would be unacceptable to the Democratic majorities that have just taken over Congress.
Directly challenging Bush's wartime leadership on their second day in charge on Capitol Hill, Democrats Pelosi (Calif.) and Reid (Nev.) sent Bush a letter suggesting that, instead of starting a short-term escalation, he begin a phased withdrawal of U.S. forces in the next four to six months. The mission of remaining troops, they said, should be shifted away from combat toward more training, logistics and counterterrorism.