[Mb-civic] Democrats Split Over Position on Iraq War - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Democrats Split Over Position on Iraq War
Activists More Vocal As Leaders Decline To Challenge Bush

By Peter Baker and Shailagh Murray
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, August 22, 2005; Page A01

Democrats say a long-standing rift in the party over the Iraq war has 
grown increasingly raw in recent days, as stay-the-course elected 
leaders who voted for the war three years ago confront rising impatience 
from activists and strategists who want to challenge President Bush 
aggressively to withdraw troops.

Amid rising casualties and falling public support for the war, Democrats 
of all stripes have grown more vocal this summer in criticizing Bush's 
handling of the war. A growing chorus of Democrats, however, has said 
this criticism should be harnessed to a consistent message and 
alternative policy -- something most Democratic lawmakers have refused 
to offer.

The wariness, congressional aides and outside strategists said in 
interviews last week, reflects a belief among some in the opposition 
that proposals to force troop drawdowns or otherwise limit Bush's 
options would be perceived by many voters as defeatist. Some operatives 
fear such moves would exacerbate the party's traditional vulnerability 
on national security issues.

The internal schism has become all the more evident in recent weeks even 
as Americans have soured on Bush and the war in poll after poll. Senate 
Democrats, according to aides, convened a private meeting in late June 
to develop a cohesive stance on the war and debated every option -- only 
to break up with no consensus.

The rejuvenation of the antiwar movement in recent days after the mother 
of a soldier killed in Iraq set up camp near Bush's Texas ranch has 
exposed the rift even further.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/21/AR2005082100831.html?referrer=email
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