Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold Responding to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld's Testimony Today that Setting a Timetable for Withdrawing U.S. Troops from Iraq Would "Throw a Lifeline to Terrorists"

June 23, 2005

"Unfortunately, the Secretary's comments reflect the Administration's ongoing reluctance to level with the public about our military presence in Iraq. The President needs to define and set a real but flexible timetable for our military mission so that we have a yardstick to measure our progress toward achieving clear goals. The alternative is continuing to allow people to believe that large numbers of American troops will remain in Iraq indefinitely, a notion that is helping terrorists to recruit new fighters from around the world who go to Iraq to gain on-the-job training. Our effort in the fight against terrorism, and the confidence of the American people, will be strengthened by a clearer sense of where we are going in Iraq, and when we can realistically expect to get there."

Feingold introduced a resolution, S. Res. 171, earlier this month -- the first resolution of its kind in the Senate -- that calls on the President to create a timetable for achieving clear goals and withdrawing American troops from Iraq.

I see Feingold's recommendation for withdrawal timetables similiar in intent to what Biden has suggested. Feingold suggests" we have a yardstick to measure our progress toward achieving clear goals" and Biden suggests the setting of benchmarks for evaluating progress in Iraq.
Good news that they are taking the initiative in presenting realistic plans for truthful assessments and regularly scheduled reporting of what's really going on in Iraq. Although I'm sure some republicans are in agreement with these suggestions, it will be the democrats who work the U.S. out of the mess made in Iraq by Bush. Maybe the tide is beginning to turn-maybe, I don't know.