Warner's Call for Troop Withdrawal Met by Plea for Patience

By Edwin Chen and William Roberts - Bloomberg News
Friday, August 24, 2007 - Web Link
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August 24, 2007

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Senator John Warner, an influential Republican on defense matters, urged President George W. Bush to announce by Sept. 15 a plan to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, a suggestion the administration rejected.

Yesterday's statement by Warner, a five-term Virginia senator, combined with a new report by U.S. intelligence agencies that concluded Iraq's political leaders still can't govern effectively, will add fuel to the debate over the war when Congress returns from recess next month.

``We simply cannot as a nation stand and continue to put our troops at continuous risk of loss of life and limb without beginning to take some decisive action,'' Warner, who returned from Iraq last week and met with top administration officials yesterday, said during a news conference at the Capitol.

Political and foreign-policy analysts said Warner's remarks will increase Republican defections to oppose the war even if it is unlikely to change the president's mind.

For Republicans who may be on the fence, ``it's really nice to have some highly respected, senior, conservative senator go out on a limb,'' said Charlie Cook, publisher of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.