There is an interesting story in the Washington Post today about John Warner (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/18/AR2007071802385.html?hpid=sec-politics). I'll admit I follow him closely since we have met and talked before. But more importantly, he is one of the few rational members of the GOP who seems more worried about doing what is right as opposed to kissing Bush's ass or protecting the GOP. I think they call it statesmanship. Something greatly lacking today in Washington:
Right now, he will say only that he remains focused on passing the proposal he introduced last week with Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) to revisit what he calls the "obsolete" war authorization and require the administration to begin drawing up nonbinding troop redeployment plans. Majority Leader Harry Reid yesterday postponed votes on the defense authorization bill and any war-related amendments, including Warner's, because Republicans demanded a 60-vote margin for passage. But Warner was undaunted.
"We can't have any more loss of life. We need to restore the loss of credibility in some measure of the country and remain a respected source of authority in that region," said Warner, 80. "We want to bring a measure of stability to Iraq, but at the same time, this needs to be brought to a conclusion."
As a longtime senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Warner is a highly respected voice on the conflict. The World War II veteran and former Navy secretary startled Republicans last year when he returned from a trip to Iraq and said that the country seemed to be "drifting sideways." And as the Armed Services Committee's chairman during the Abu Ghraib scandal, he raised eyebrows when he insisted in 2004 that Donald Rumsfeld, the defense secretary at the time, testify under oath.
I hope he continues to push for a reconsideration of the war authorization resolution.
1 comment:
As you said last week, the man's a class act.
Post a Comment