Supporters Of Withdrawal Outraged As Commander Considers Withdrawal

Tell the military to withdraw from Iraq? Or allow the commander to set a timetable for withdrawal if conditions permit? Why, it's exactly the same thing! Democrats Cite Report On Troop Cuts in Iraq by Michael Abramowitz and Thomas E. Ricks:

Senate Democrats reacted angrily yesterday to a report that the U.S. commander in Iraq had privately presented a plan for significant troop reductions in the same week they came under attack by Republicans for trying to set a timetable for withdrawal.

Precious.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said that the plan attributed to Gen. George W. Casey resembles the thinking of many Democrats who voted for a nonbinding resolution to begin a troop drawdown in December. That resolution was defeated Thursday on a largely party-line vote in the Senate...

Sen. Carl M. Levin (Mich.), one of the two sponsors of the nonbinding resolution, which offered no pace or completion date for a withdrawal, said the report is another sign of what he termed one of the "worst-kept secrets in town" -- that the administration intends to pull out troops before the midterm elections in November....

Why then all the clamor to pass a bill on withdrawal? Oh, and five grafs before the end of this story, we're finally reminded of John Kerry's bill to require withdrawal by next year, which about a quarter of the Senate Democrats supported. But never mind that.