The Skinny: L.A. Times Says White House Mulling Compromise Offer On Iraq War PolicyThe
Los Angeles Times tops its front page Monday with a report that the Bush administration is looking into offering Congress a compromise deal on Iraq, in a bid to avoid a continued political battle over the unpopular war.
The Times says President Bush has authorized an internal policy review to come up with a plan that satisfies war opponents while allowing President Bush to hold onto some of his top goals for Iraq.
Senior administration officials have been "quietly talking with lawmakers" about possible changes in U.S. policy, including pushing for "a sharply decentralized" Iraqi government.
But while a deal with Congress could save the White House from "refighting the issue every few months," the Times says "the odds of a compromise are long."
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Cheney Under The Microscope The
Washington Post continues its series on Dick Cheney, "the most influential and powerful man ever to hold the office of vice president," with a look at how he shaped the administration's controversial policy on interrogating accused terrorists.
The Post says that as early as January 2002, "well before previous accounts have suggested," Cheney and his allies began pushing for exceptions to the Geneva Conventions, to allow a "novel distinction" between the banned use of "torture," and the permitted use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading" interrogation techniques.
more From the
Los Angeles Times:
The White House has opposed proposals in Congress to partition Iraq, or sharply decentralize its government.
That idea — what proponents of decentralization call a "federal system of government" — is favored by an unusually broad bipartisan group of senators. They were pulled together this month by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), a presidential candidate, to cosponsor a nonbinding resolution supporting the federalism plan.
And the administration stance may be easing. On a trip to Iraq about a week ago, Gates openly reflected that greater emphasis outside Baghdad might prove more effective. "Perhaps we have gotten too focused on the central government, and not enough on the provinces and on the tribes and what is happening in those areas," Gates told reporters.
And U.N. Ambassador Khalilzad, who was the U.S. ambassador to Iraq until April, has discussed the federalism plan with Biden and Biden's fellow sponsor and presidential hopeful Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), lawmakers said.
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Biden said recently that the federalism plan "offers the possibility — not the guarantee, but the possibility — of a soft landing in Iraq."
"I believe it is the best way to end the war in Iraq in a responsible way," he said.
The idea is gaining popularity on Capitol Hill.
Joining Biden is Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), one of the strongest proponents of a deadline for withdrawing most U.S. combat troops. Also cosponsoring the measure are three Republicans, including two conservatives not usually seen as Democrats' allies on the war: Brownback and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas.
Although Hutchison has spoken since last year about creating semiautonomous regions in Iraq, she has generally been one of the administration's most loyal allies on Capitol Hill.
The Biden resolution — which does not address troop levels — has not been endorsed by the Senate Democratic leadership, which remains focused on the upcoming troop withdrawal votes.
A number of influential lawmakers also have expressed concerns that a U.S. plan to divide the country could increase sectarian strife and create the impression that the United States is imposing its will on the Iraqis.
moreEdited to add: Bush gets just what he wants doesn't he? Unbelieveable!
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