Can We Count on Senator Coleman to Change Course in Iraq?
08/31/2007
Can We Count on Senator Coleman to Change Course in Iraq?With More Bad News, Coleman Heads to Iraq to Assess Situation;
St. Paul, MN (August 30, 2007) With news that a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report will say that Iraq has failed to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress, Senator Norm Coleman goes to Iraq today to assess the situation on the ground. The Minnesota DFL Party asked again today whether Senator Coleman will abandon the president’s failed war strategy and support a change in course in Iraq.
Coleman has refused to change course in Iraq, voting five times this year against a timeline for bringing the troops home from Iraq. The Bush Administration said yesterday they plan to request $50 billion in additional funding for the war after a mid-September report on the state of the war and the president’s troop surge.
“For Minnesotans, the question remains as to whether Senator Coleman will make an honest assessment of the situation in Iraq and finally take action to bring our troops home,” said Minnesota DFL Chair Brian Melendez. “Now with news that Iraq may meet only three of 18 benchmarks in September, the heat is on Coleman to abandon the president and his failed war strategy and listen to the will of Minnesotans to bring and end to this war.”
“Unfortunately for Minnesotans, Senator Coleman has a history of putting the president ahead of the interests of the very people who elected him to the Senate,” continued Melendez.
Will Coleman Continue to Support Bush and His Failed War in Iraq?
Report Finds Little Progress in Iraq. According to the Washington Post, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says that Iraq has failed to meet all but three of the 18 benchmarks for political and military progress. “The document questions whether some aspects of a more positive assessment by the White House last month adequately reflected the range of views the GAO found within the administration.” [Washington Post, 8/30/07]
President Bush Asking for Another $50 Billion for Iraq. According to the Washington Post, “President Bush plans to ask Congress next month for up to $50 billion in additional funding for the war in Iraq…a move that appears to reflect increasing administration confidence that it can fend off congressional calls for a rapid drawdown of U.S. forces.” The request is expected to be announced after General Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker testify in front of Congress on the state of the war and the President’s “troop surge.” [Washington Post, 8/29/07]
Coleman Heads to Iraq This Week to Assess Situation. According to the Star Tribune, Coleman will head to Iraq this week to assess the situation on the ground. “The first-term senator's fourth trip to Iraq comes only weeks before U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus come to Washington to testify before lawmakers about progress in the region. Coleman said his trip's purpose is to understand how to accelerate political reconciliation without undermining military success. He said he plans to meet with Crocker in Baghdad and will travel to other parts of the country.” [Star Tribune, 8/30/07]
Coleman Has Supported Bush on Key Votes 90.5% of Tenure in Senate. This figure represents the four-year average of Coleman’s Congressional Quarterly presidential support index. In his first year in the Senate, Coleman backed Bush a whopping 98% of the time [Star Tribune, Big Question, 5/14/07]
Coleman Refuses to Take Action to Change Course in Iraq. In July, Senator Norm Coleman voted for the fifth time against a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq. [Vote #252, 7/18/07; Vote #147, 4/26/07; Vote #126, 3/29/07, Vote #116, 3/27/07;, Vote #75, 3/15/07; NPR, 7/17/07]
In July, Coleman said U.S. Will Be in Iraq for a “Long-Time.” “Minnesota's Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman said Thursday the United States will have a long-term presence in Iraq but may see a change of mission. ‘We are going to be in Iraq a long time. I am not supporting dates, specific dates, timetables for withdrawal,’ he said…Those who say U.S. troops must be out of Iraq by September are ‘missing reality,’ he said.” [Pioneer Press, 7/14/07]
Republicans Begin to Question Bush’s War Strategy. “Former Senate Foreign Relations chairman Dick Lugar, R-Ind., recently sent shock waves through that august body by calling for a reduced U.S. presence in Iraq. And on Thursday, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said U.S. forces should start leaving by Christmas.” [Charlotte Observer, 8/27/07]
President Bush Continues to Defend Failed War Strategy. In a speech to the annual American Legion convention in Reno, “Broadening his defense of the war in Iraq, President Bush said Tuesday that withdrawing U.S. forces would allow the Middle East to be taken over by extremist forces and put the security of the United States in jeopardy. [Washington Post, 8/28/07]
Coleman Said “Whatever the Future Brings, We Must Stand With This President.” In September 2004, Coleman praised President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq and said, “Whatever the future brings, we must stand with this president.” [Star Tribune, 9/22/04]