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July 22, 2007

US Democrats Continue Push for Iraq Troop Withdrawal
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1839A90:A6F02AD83191E16086C878F60294832E9574F7DCC14957C0 Senator Carl Levin
says US will not be able to end violence in Iraq by military force
alone In Washington, a prominent Democratic lawmaker, the head of the
U.S. Senate's Armed Services Committee, is renewing his party's push
for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.







Sen. Carl Levin, (l), accompanied by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., discusses
legislation to change the course of the war in Iraq during a news
conference on Capitol Hill, 10 July 2007 Senator Carl Levin, a sponsor
of a troop-withdrawal bill now awaiting a vote by the full Senate,
says the United States will not be able to end violence in Iraq by
military force alone. The senator from the midwestern state of
Michigan contends that only a political settlement by Iraqi leaders
can bring the continuing strife to an end.

The Democrats' current proposed bill calls for a troop withdrawal
beginning in less than three months, but it has no binding effect on
President Bush. An earlier version of the bill that would have
mandated a military pullout was blocked last week by Republican Party
senators.

The White House is urging Democratic lawmakers, who control Congress
to defer legislative action until September, when a complete status
report on current military operations in Iraq is due.

Levin, a co-author of the Reid-Levin amendment that is a key part of
the bill, says the prospect of an American pullout beginning this year
will push Iraq's leaders to move toward a political settlement
acceptable to all factions.

Speaking Saturday during the Democrats' weekly radio message to the
nation, Levin said that if Iraqi leaders continue to think their
future is in U.S. hands, they will continue to dawdle.

Bush administration officials say that report will provide a clearer
assessment of what has been achieved by the so-called U.S. troop surge
in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq.


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