Sheldon Whithouse Confirms his Views on Iraq

The President has confirmed that plans from drawing down the number of American troops in Iraq are being considered. As Fox News >reports…

Recommendations from U.S. generals and the new Iraqi government will determine how many U.S. troops will remain in Iraq, President Bush said Monday, casting aside reports that sharp troop reductions are in the works ahead of November's midterm election.

Gen. George Casey, head of Multinational Force in Iraq, met with Bush last Friday, at which time the two reviewed joint U.S.-Iraqi force operations to secure Baghdad as well as actions in Ramadi aimed at securing that city by running out members of Al Qaeda.

The president said the two also discussed troop levels, but no decisions have been made…

Speculation is rampant following Casey's visit that he will call for a reduction of two combat brigades, about 7,000 troops, to be removed from Iraq in September. The New York Times also reported that Casey has drafted a plan that projects five or six combat brigades will remain in Iraq from the current level of 14 by the end of 2007. That's a reduction of about 28,000 troops. Currently, 127,000 U.S. troops are deployed in Iraq.

Without offering any wholesale numbers, White House spokesman Tony Snow said that a reduction of two combat brigades was among the options being considered, but no recommendations have been made yet.

How will the decision be made?

In terms of our troop presence there, that decision will be made by General Casey, as well as the sovereign government of Iraq, based upon conditions on the ground. And one of the things that General Casey assured me of is that, whatever recommendation he makes, it will be aimed toward achieving victory," Bush said

However, the idea of moving troops in response to the conditions on the ground. Democrats like Sheldon Whitehouse want the President to ignore and substitute the judgement of the United States Senate for the judgement of military commanders. In Charles Bakst’s column in Sunday’s Projo, Whitehouse confirmed that he would have voted to require, without considering if that would make the situation in Iraq militarily or politically better or worse…

Whitehouse, who wants U.S. troops out by the end of 2006, says he'd have voted last week for Sen. John Kerry's proposal to require withdrawal of all combat forces by next July, with redeployments beginning this year. Whitehouse said it would signal insurgents "that we are not an infidel army of occupation" and signal Iraqi factions "that they have to get their affairs in order fast."

Whitehouse, embraces the hard-left view of the world that lies even outside of the Democratic mainstream. The hard-left takes a simple view to reduce the complexity of foreign affairs. To the hard left, there is only a single issue that matters in any foreign policy problem -- the negative presence of the United States. Every consideration can be reduced – even the intentions of foreign governments – is determined by the existence and presence of the United States.

In the hard-left view, the violence occurs againt America and our allies does not occur because some groups Reject the nuance that have motivations of their own. are inherently expansionist and totalitarian, but because the existence of the United States makes them violent. Ergo, if the United States appeases violent factions by walk away from any confrontation, the situation will resolve itself And reject that.

It appears that Sheldon Whitehouse has left the mainsteam of the Democratic party, left the position of Jack Reed and joined the hard left ranks who believe that apeeasement.