Dems (Finally) Back a (Murtha Look-alike) Plan of Iraq Withdrawal

Okay, so it takes twenty Demcorats to get their butts out of the hole in the ground. At least they've done something, right. To mix metaphors here, it looks like they might actually come up with a viable strategy to get US troops out of Iraq...

If it seems like deja vu all over again, it should. Rep. John Murtha proposed the same plan back in late November 2005. One intriguing aspect of this "new" plan the Democrats are supposedly going to publish is that it comes from the pen of a former Reagan Defense Secretary.

Why do the Democrats think they need to diss Murtha on this? Is it that Hilary Clinton might be working behind the scenes and trying to make sure that Murtha--who gained a lot of street creds in his standing up to the Prez on Iraq--doesn't get any big ideas and make a run against her?

Anyway, according to the Boston Globe:

Under Korb's outline, all reservists and National Guard members would come home this year. Most of the other troops would be redeployed to other key areas -- Afghanistan, Southeast Asia, and the Horn of Africa -- with large, quick-strike forces placed in Kuwait, where they could respond to crises in neighboring Iraq.

Korb said in an interview that setting dates for troop withdrawal would send a message to the Iraqi people that the United States does not intend to set up permanent military bases in Iraq. Starting the redeployment quickly will ensure that the Army does not wear out before the insurgents do, he said.

''The Iraqis want us to go," said Korb, who has opposed Bush's decision to invade Iraq from the start. ''If you're out by the end of 2007, we'll have been there almost five years. That's not cutting and running."