Democrats’ Iraq Pledge

Now that they’re in the majority, Democratic leaders have promised to step up oversight of the war in Iraq and demand a timetable for troop withdrawal.

New York Times:

After two days in which both sides pledged bipartisanship in the aftermath of the Democratic victory in the midterm elections, leaders of the new Democratic majority began asserting themselves, seeking to give Congress a greater role in both foreign and domestic policy after years in which, in their view, President Bush was granted too much latitude.

After meeting with Mr. Bush at the White House, Sen. Harry Reid, the incoming Senate majority leader, said “the first order of business” when Democrats formally take over in January will be to reinvigorate Congressional scrutiny of the executive branch, with a focus on Iraq.

“Let’s find out what’s going on with the war in Iraq, the different large federal agencies that we have,” said Mr. Reid, Democrat of Nevada. “There simply has been no oversight in recent years.”

The willingness of Democrats to begin confronting Mr. Bush and his party over Iraq suggested that the early promises of cooperation across the aisle would be tested quickly by deep differences over policy and political imperatives on both sides.

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