Sen. Levin aims for U.S. troop limits in Iraq

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Levin mulls U.S. withdrawl from Iraq
Feb. 25: Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., speaks with Tim Russert of NBC's "Meet the Press" about the idea of setting a goal for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

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“If you ever disrupt that chain, then you’re going to have the worst of micromanagement of the military affairs,” Rice warned.

Democrats control the U.S. Congress and most oppose Bush’s plans to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq. While some Republicans have voiced reservations, the majority of them seem to back the president’s plea to give his troop buildup a chance to succeed.

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Levin eyes funding in battle over Iraq
Feb. 25: Senate Armed Service Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., speaks to Tim Russert of NBC's "Meet the Press" about troop funding issues in the fight over U.S. involvement in Iraq.
Meet the Press
Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas said he would oppose any immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops, but argued Iraq needs a political rather than a military solution.

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Brownback, a contender for his party’s 2008 presidential nomination, said Iraq should be split into three semi-autonomous regions corresponding with the country’s predominant ethnic and religious factions.

“We need to press for that now before we lose all political will in this country,” Brownback told CNN’s “Late Edition.” Such a solution has long been pushed by Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, another 2008 presidential hopeful.

Levin said if Congress passes a new resolution and Bush ignores it, “Then we have a constitutional battle on on our hands.”

The Michigan Democrat added that it would be difficult for Bush to brush aside such a measure, noting “he has relied so heavily on our resolution authorizing him to go to war in the first place.”

While some Democrats have talked about cutting funding of the war, Levin argued such an effort would be unfair to the troops, likely fail and “strengthen the president’s hand.”

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