http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/10/187982.aspxFrom NBC's Ken Strickland
Today, another Republican senator announced plans to offer bipartisan legislation to set "a new course" in the Iraq war. Tennessean Lamar Alexander, a loyal Republican who's always voted with the president on Iraq issues said, "There's too much partisan game playing." He and Democrat Ken Salazar will draft a bill that implements the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group Report -- remember that group? -- which included benchmarks and a timeline for troop withdrawal.
"We need to get out of the combat business in Iraq and into the support and training and equipping business as soon as we honorably can," Alexander said in a speech on the Senate floor. He added that because the report stems from a bipartisan effort independent of the Administration, it has a better chance of garnering bipartisan congressional support.
And moderate Republican Olympia Snowe held a news conference to discuss the legislation she announced yesterday with Democrat Evan Bayh. Their bill would require troop withdrawal to pre-surge levels if the Iraqi government has not met specific benchmarks.