By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer
August 11, 2007
WASHINGTON - Democrats on Saturday touted legislation to guarantee
troops time at home between deployments to Iraq. In the party's
weekly radio address, Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., criticized
President Bush for threatening to veto the bill, contending
his administration's policies on troop deployments have weakened
the military.
"The president's surge has sent many of our Army units
to Iraq for the second and third time. We are asking our troops
to make heroic sacrifices yet as soon as they return we rush
them back into battle," said Tauscher, author of the bill
that passed the House Aug. 2 on a vote of 229-194.
The measure would require that regular military units returning
from the war receive at least as much time at home as they
spent in Iraq. Reserve units would get a home stay three times
as long as they spent in the war zone.
Under the Pentagon's current policy, active-duty troops typically
serve deployments of up to 15 months, with a year at home in
between. National Guard and Reserve ground units generally
can be called up for as long as two years, to be followed by
six years at home.
Bush's war adviser, Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, said Friday the
Pentagon needs to reevaluate deployment lengths.
"Come the spring, some variables will have to change
either the degree to which the American ground forces, the
Marines and the Army in particular, are deployed around the
world to include Iraq, or the length of time they're deployed
in one tour, or the length of time they enjoy at home," Lute
said in an interview on National Public Radio.
Bush complained that Tauscher's bill would put arbitrary constraints
on Pentagon commanders. But Tauscher noted that the measure
includes waivers enabling the president to disregard the required
intervals between troop deployments in the interest of national
security.
"If we are honest about wanting to support our troops,
there is no better place to start than with the rest and training
they require to complete their mission and return home safely," said
Tauscher.
In the Senate, similar legislation by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.,
won a majority vote of 56-41 in July but fell four short of
the 60 votes needed to advance.
The vote on Tauscher's bill shortly before Congress left Washington
for its August recess was the latest challenge to Bush from
Democrats aiming to end an unpopular war. Democratic leaders
plan to renew the challenge in September, when Gen. David Petraeus,
the top U.S. commander in Iraq, delivers a long-awaited report
on the state of the conflict.
The president vetoed legislation this spring that included
a timeline for a troop withdrawal.
Petraeus told lawmakers visiting Iraq this month that a U.S.
presence in Iraq is likely to be needed for another nine to
10 years, said Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., who met with the
general along with Democrat Tom Allen of Maine and four House
Republicans. Petraeus has made similar remarks in the past,
noting that the question is how many troops would be needed.
Schakowsky, a member of the Out of Iraq caucus, said she returned
from the trip convinced more than ever the U.S. should set
a deadline for troop withdrawals.
"Calling for patience, at this point, I don't believe
is going to work with the American people," she told reporters
in a conference call from Germany on Friday.
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