According to widespread reporting in the corporate media, Michigan Senator Carl Levin is reportedly considering a "compromise" measure over his calls for the withdrawal of some United States soldiers from Iraq. Democrats--who are unwilling to consider voting to stop funding the occupation--are apparently realizing that they lack the votes to override a filibuster in the Senate and are now looking for a "bipartisan" strategy to end the war. Media reports have quoted numerous Democratic Party aides saying that the Democratic leadership is now willing to drop its timetable for withdrawal in exchange for more Republican votes.

At the center of this effort is Michigan Senator Carl Levin, who is revising legislation that he proposed earlier this year. While Levin's bill had significant loopholes that would allow for the presence of an unknown number of United States soldiers for years to come in order to fight "terrorists," the media reports that he is now considering removing the deadlines in his bill. The deadlines would become "goals" and would be non-binding. Additionally, the bill would reportedly include a call for a "substantial" "drawdown" of soldiers from Iraq by the end of the year, although no numbers would be included. The news about Levin's possible compromise comes only two days after he suggested that the time is right to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq.

The proposed plan is nothing more than an attempt to minimize the ongoing occupation of Iraq and is essentially playing politics with the Iraqi people. Levin has absolutely no credibility as an "antiwar" Senator at this point, having called recently for the removal of Iraq's Prime Minister and repeatedly promoting the idea that the United States can tell the Iraqi government what to do. Moreover, Levin has consistently sought to blame the Iraqis for the ongoing violence and has apparently not considered the role that the United States' ongoing presence as an occupying force has played in motivating the insurgency. Levin--like the rest of the Democratic Party--has been unable to overcome their "fears" of confronting the system of US militarism, of being responsible for what they believe will be the bloody consequences of US withdrawal, and of being portrayed as "soft" on terrorism according to reporter and analysis Joshua Holland who argues that the Democrats are running the risk of being seen as "irrelevant" on the war. The Democrats' failure to confront the Republicans on Iraq comes despite ongoing public opposition to the war and support for the withdrawal of US troops, even as media coverage of the war has decreased.

While a few Democrats have expressed opposition to Levin's proposal, national antiwar groups United for Peace and Justice and Code Pink have continued to pressure both Democrats and Republicans to support an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq by urging Congress to vote against providing additional funding for the war. United for Peace and Justice organized a call-in day earlier this week and is planning decentralized antiwar mobilizations on October 27 across the country. Earlier this week, Code Pink began a campaign to target Congressional representatives until the vote on war funding.

In Grand Rapids, ACTIVATE/SDS has organized a demonstration for September 15th calling for an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq. The protest will begin at 12:00pm at Rosa Parks Circle with ACTIVATE/SDS calling on Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow as well as Grand Rapids area Representative Vern Ehlers to support an immediate end to the war.