Carl Levin says winning the war is not enough to continue it...

In today’s Detroit Free Press, Senator Carl Levin says that winning the war isn’t enough to continue it. Even if the Iraqi government meets all of its benchmarks, even if the surge is working – Senator Levin still wants to pull out. So, let’s see here, Democrats have committed to pulling out of Iraq even if it would mean turning victory into defeat, even if it would mean jeopardizing progress by their democratic government, even if it would result in genocide, even if allies in the region want the U.S. to stay. It just strikes me as incomprehensible – for U.S. interests, for regional interests, for humanitarian principles – for the Democrats to continue along this line of reasoning.

Levin: Progress isn't reason enough to postpone troop withdrawal
Detroit Free Press

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Carl Levin says even if Iraqi leaders make political progress before a September report is due and violence continues to decline, it wouldn’t be enough to convince him not to push for a withdrawal of American troops.

With Congress ready to take a month off beginning at the end of this week, Levin spoke to reporters about highlights from the first seven months of the year and discussed his belief that a growing number of Republicans are unwilling to blindly support President George W. Bush’s Iraq war policy.

The Detroit Democrat, who serves as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Iraqi leaders may return from their own recess and make enough political progress toward benchmarks to convince Bush to continue a policy that saw him send tens of thousands more troops to Iraq.

“That’s not enough for me,” said Levin, who is expected to renew a push for timetables to begin withdrawing troops when Congress returns to Washington, D.C. in September.