Earlier this week, Democrats in the United States Senate engaged in yet another media show designed to give them the appearance of being "antiwar" while doing little to end the occupation of Iraq. The latest measure, a bill by Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold, would have required that the United States begin withdrawing soldiers from Iraq and would have limited funding for ongoing operations within 120 days. However, The bill included the usual exceptions and would have allowed an unknown number of US soldiers to stay in Iraq for an indefinite amount of time. According to the bill, these soldiers would be limited to "...targeted operations, limited in duration and scope, against members of al Qaeda and affiliated international terrorist organizations," to provide "...security for personnel and infrastructure of the United States Government," and to provide "...training to members of the Iraqi Security Forces who have not been involved in sectarian violence or in attacks upon the United States Armed Forces, provided that such training does not involve members of the United States Armed Forces taking part in combat operations or being embedded with Iraqi forces." There was no timeline in the bill for withdrawal, nor were there any indication of how many troops might remain in the country.
Despite its limited aims, the bill was withdrawn before a vote was taken. This allowed the Democrats to have the appearance of being antiwar while they debated the situation in Iraq, but kept them from having to go on the record as either supporting or opposing the ongoing occupation of Iraq. Some Democrats painted the debate as a success, arguing that it is the longest that the Senate has discussed Iraq in months.
Michigan Senator Carl Levin--who voted against bringing the Feingold bill to the floor for debate (one of only 24 senators to do so)--has been quoted in the media saying that he will attempt to amend an upcoming war supplemental bill to require withdrawal. Levin says that the language has not yet been decided on, but in the past he has been a proponent of comprise measures that would do nothing to end the occupation of Iraq.
