August 23, 2007
Posted: 03:34 PM ET

Warner is back from a recent trip to Iraq.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — One of the Senate's top Republicans has called on President Bush to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq by Christmas, telling reporters Thursday that a pullout was needed to spur Iraqi leaders to action.

Sen. John Warner, the influential former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he has recommended that Bush announce the beginning of a U.S. withdrawal in mid-September, after a report from the top U.S. officials in Iraq.

Full story

Filed under: Iraq


CAROL OLSEN - KANSAS CITY, KS   August 27th, 2007 3:31 pm ET

NOW, IF WE COULD JUST GET RID OF BUSH!

Red, Toney, AL   August 27th, 2007 3:25 pm ET

I believe Senator Warner has been in the Senate to long, he should hang it up and retire. He certainly should support his President vice attempting to undermine him.

Ron Nebraska   August 26th, 2007 11:30 pm ET

What is with all these cut and run Repugs anyway? Can we believe in nothing anymore!?

Dan Kanoza, Cincinnati, OH   August 25th, 2007 7:06 pm ET

Should we pull out of Iraq, without question, a greater hell would breakout, but we wont achieve a thing by staying. It's unfortunate that the Media can't bring itself to admit that we started the war there, and if we leave, we are leaving a very horrible situation which exists, because of us.

The wars in the Middle East are religious wars and are not intended to give Democracy a chance to flourish. If our President really is an advocate of Democracy, it doesn't make sense for him to hold the Saudi King's hand, where laws exist that forbid women to drive.

Dan Kanoza

Dave, Miramar Beach Fl   August 25th, 2007 10:33 am ET

I would think the rednecks of America would love to have the terrorist over here to fight.They will be able to use all them guns without going committing a crime. I guess the NRA is afraid of terrorist?Yeah we don't want those same terrorist that came here after we left Vietnam

Cary - Lowell, IN   August 24th, 2007 9:19 pm ET

John Warner is up for re-election. That alone tells you that he has ulterior motives. He's scared about the shifting allegiences in Va. He knows if he becomes the media liberal darling, he'll draw notes. This is such a politically-motivated statement , it isn't funny.

Dave, Haslett, Mi   August 24th, 2007 5:54 pm ET

It's about time that Warner came to his senses. At the same time Warner is calling to begin troop withdrawal, the spineless Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin are going on record as saying the surge is working.This would be laughable if it weren't so pathetic.

clarence swinney burlington nc   August 24th, 2007 1:14 pm ET

A Leader?BUSH WAFFLE HOUSE
“I say what I mean and mean what I say”
“ Promises made-Promises kept”
“When I make up my mind it stays made up”
“I do not take cues from anyone”
“You can’t say one thing and do another”
“Trust me I’m a straight shooter”
“I’m the commander, I don’t need to explain, I do not need to explain why I do things”
“I need a WAR to be a successful president”
”I’m the War President”
“I’m the Peace President”
“A Leader never admits mistakes”
“I’m the Decider and I decide what is best”. God Bless the King!
“Lucky Me, I hit the Trifecta”
“God told me to attack the terrorists in Iraq to keep them from attacking us”.
Exact words of Hitler except he said Poland not Iraq.
“I’m a Recovering Drunk” said Bush. Judy Keen USA Today12-29-05
‘There is no point in discussing the pros and cons of the war”

“You know what I’m gonna tell those Jews when I get to Israel don’t you Herman?
I’m telling em they are all going to Hell”. Ken Herman Austin reporter.

IS THIS MAN SANE?

xtina chicago IL   August 24th, 2007 12:37 pm ET

OK OK John Warner has a right to speak, but the news media has a nasty habit of making one person's statement "the headline". (they do it for liberals and conservatives alike)

Harold J Macek, Port Richey, Florida   August 24th, 2007 11:47 am ET

Muslim terrorists did have camps in Iraq..As evidenced in blown up planes, used for terror training..to think other wise..not smart..

IRA D. JINKINS, SR. 2120 WASHINGTON ST. APT.5 LINCOLN, NE 68502   August 24th, 2007 10:32 am ET

SO WHAT'S NEW WITH SENATOR WARNER, DOES HE THINK SAYING IT A 3RD TIME, WILL BE A CHARM?
I DO NOT THINK SO! PLEASE, DO NOT SET UP THIS FALSE HOPE FOR OUR MILITARY AND OUR FAMILIES, THAT ARE ALREADY SUFFERING BECAUSE OF THIS FAILED POLICY AND NATIONAL CRISIS.
WE DESERVE AND EXPECT BETTER FROM ONE OF OUR FELLOW VETERANS.
JUST LET THE VOTES, VOTES, VOTES, DO THE TALKING AND WALKING!!
THANK YOU.
IRA D. JINKINS, SR.
VETERAN/ARMY INFANTRY
15.5YEARS

DAF, Los Angeles, CA   August 24th, 2007 10:22 am ET

We tried to build a government without rebuilding the infrastructure and protecting the civil society that lead people to value that government.

If we aren't ever going to do this right, then its time to stop sending young Americans to kill and die for it, and to stop wrecking our long-term economic outlook in sustaining it.

No matter what your political orientation or opinion on the process that led to the war, that should be clear.

Josh   August 24th, 2007 9:48 am ET

"Quit acting like this is George W. Bush's fault. Even Clinton bombed Iraq. At least G. W. put his money where his mouth is, unlike the UN which simply passed a couple hundred resolutions that only hurt the very poor in the country."

How is this not Bush's fault? He misled Congress and worse, he misled the American people by trying to connect 9/11 to Iraq. Any you made a great distinction in your comment. You said that even Clinton bombed Iraq. Yes, he only BOMBED him. Bush lied, and sent in FAR too few troops, against the advice of his generals (which he then got rid of). Now he is too stubborn to say he made a mistake. Or he is too stupid to realize it.

Cable King Pittsburgh Pa   August 24th, 2007 9:33 am ET

Yo Jeff in Texas,

Yikes! You say Dubya "at least put HIS money where his mouth is" …… MAN, YOU NEED HELP!

Roy S Philadelphia PA   August 24th, 2007 5:34 am ET

What a mess George W Bush got us into and all over NOTHING! Iraq and Saddam were no threat to the USA and EVERYBODY knows it — except for those in denial or who still refuse to be honest about it. And "Bush's Mess" has cost us a half a TRiLLION dollars!!! That boils down to about $4,500. per American taxpayer so far. All that manpower and financial resources that could have gone into fighting the war on terror has been essentially squandered on a mess that has made things worse. According to the NIE report. Bin Laden and the 'real' al queada (not to be confused with al queada of mesopotamia in Iraq who make up less that 5 percent of insurgency) are stronger than ever. I tell ya, the Republican Neocons are gonna get us killed.

Steve, Portland, OR   August 24th, 2007 3:47 am ET

Rats abandoning the sinking ship. Good to see the captain is still willing to go down with her. So we kicked butt in a third world nation to stop a brutal dictator we helped create, then we removed him and opened a smorgasboard of hatreds. Now we want to take our toys and go home if the Iraq political system we started doesn't work? Does ours?. How many of you citizens were in on this vote to go to war anyways? We're apparently still so naive we don't get that all we did was make a bigger mess. Iraq will not settle easily, there is way too much past baggage there and we have those in Washington in BOTH parties to thank for this mess that is taking precious dollars from families right here that need help and doing more to hurt our security right here that we need.

Ross, Mosul, Iraq   August 24th, 2007 3:25 am ET

No! You can't compare 225 years to 4 years. However, the first four years of our government we did't have mass suicide bombs, security issues and servere corruption with the local police. I'm here a second time on the groud and it's seems worse than it was in OIF III. Despite what our commander and chief is saying, progress is really, really, really slow. THe surge is working in the isolated areas, but now there is more activty were the surge isn't present! You the taxpayers have to ask yourselves, "Is this investment worth the billions of taxs dollars spent and the loss of lives". As I said before the problems are:
1) What is our mission for it keeps changing every rotation.
2) The Iraqi Police are the most corrupt police force in the world. The local police chief just sold two SUV's to suspected insurgents for his own personal gain. I guess he trying to say thanks to the American tax payers.
3) Unlike our first 4 years, the Iraqi people and the government don't seem to want it as much as we did. They have their own agenda.
Maybe these are things that you don't normally hear, but I know I would be silenced. If you support the war, you might want to ask soldiers who served there rather than the media and the president. I also have to add that it's really unbecoming for our president to speak in the VFW and compare the vietnam war to the iraq war, when he dodged the draft and didn't serve. Very unbecoming…..
We(military personnel) wish this was thought out better!

Bill Phoenix AZ   August 24th, 2007 1:20 am ET

Are you kidding me? We're supposed to get excited because this older than dirt Bush step'n fetch it finally starts talking about a move that actually supports our troops? Way to little, way to late! We need to expunge all of these people!

philip tonkovich, palm springs, california   August 23rd, 2007 11:26 pm ET

I just can't understand why MALARKY's inability to govern is arising as a topic of discussion. It looks to me like the furball can't even give himself a close shave. I also wonder if his paychecks from Iran are hand-delivered or if he has direct deposit. It comes to this as far as I am concerned: Unless America is willing to instruct its military to become viciously brutal, on par with Atilla the Hun, we best fold up out tents and head on to some other politically inspired nonsense somewhere else. As for me, I'm totally in favor of wiping the entire mid-east as well as the Call-Center continent of of India entirely off the face of the earth, men, women, children, camels, and lambkins. I already know that many of the readers of these posts will be offended by my comments…that's why I made them.

Bye Bye Sweetie Pie,

Wingman88X

P.S. Ooosy daisy, I forgot to include all the cows in India.

Roy, Lynchburg, VA   August 23rd, 2007 10:18 pm ET

"I pray that the terrorist do not FOLLOW us home to Virginia…"

Barry, Auburn, CA   August 23rd, 2007 10:04 pm ET

Does anyone remember during the invasion of Iraq this John Warner called Bush a "genius" for the invasion. Warner would not now be talking out the other side of his mouth but for the coming election. He walks the walk and talks the talk at his convenience not America's. Warner is a practical Republican who takes care of his Party not his Country. Listen to the way he soft pedals his advice to withdraw. Just enough to show a change, to stay in power, but not too much to offend conservatives. Warner is a communicator not a patriot or statesman. If he wasn't in poliitics he would have been a preacher.

Tony, Enterprise, Alabama   August 23rd, 2007 9:32 pm ET

Tell the troops to start packing their duffle bags.

If the stalwart military expert Senator Warner says it is time to start the process of coming home, then it is time. Senator Warner has more institutional knowledge about the military and intelligence matters than President Bush will ever have.

Thank God that good judgement and common sense appear to be returning to some of our leaders in Washington.

Frank Auer Laporte CO   August 23rd, 2007 8:56 pm ET

Posted By Jeff Houston, TX : August 23, 2007 5:00 pm …At least G. W. put his money where his mouth is…

No, he put our soldiers and OUR money where his mouth is !

HAWK,TEXAS   August 23rd, 2007 8:54 pm ET

IF HE IS SO HOT TO START BRINGING THE TROOPS HOME, WHY DID HE VOTE AGAINST REDEPLOYING THEM?

Rick, Chicago Illinois   August 23rd, 2007 8:46 pm ET

ReadBtwthlins … when THEY start paying for their own war and start doing most of the fighting and the dying, we wont have ANY expectations at all!

Rick, Chicago Illinois   August 23rd, 2007 8:44 pm ET

Jeff Houston, TX … "At least G. W. put his money where his mouth is"?

No … Dubya put EVERYBODY'S money (450 billion) where his mouth is … and the lives of everybody ELSE'S kids (over 3,600 and counting).

And he did it to fight a war - based on WMDs his own inspectors told him Saddam DIDN'T have - that he said himself you couldn't win ("I don't think you can win it").

And this was before he lied and said we WERE ("absolutely")winning it, which was before his Sec of Defense Gates told a Senate committee we WEREN'T winning.

Yep, hail to the Thief for making the wrong decisions (consistently) after being warned in advance they were the WRONG decisions by the people he then retired.

Kudos to Dubya for that!

Right?

Thanks for posting Jeff and giving me the opportunity to correct you.

I'll probably be correcting your future posts as well.

Bob, San Francisco, CA   August 23rd, 2007 8:16 pm ET

Marcy in Margate -
Exactly how is John Warner doing what's not good for our troops? Pulling them out of a futile and illegal war is not good for the troops or for America you say?

JON in Sacramento-
Yes, an illegal war. The vast majority of international law groups in the world, plus notable figures like Kofi Annan, Hans Blix, French president Chirac, etc. have all revealed how the world sees the whole war as illegal. And please don't knock Chirac for being French because I expect better from you.
Most international bodies, particularly advanced nations, see this war as an act of pre emptive aggression, the kind usually seen by Sadaam invading Kuwait or Hitler in Poland (and then some!).
H.J. Resolution, Section 3, Paragraph B stated that the United States was required to either show evidence of existing WMD or a connection between Iraq and 9-11. Obviously, no substantial proof for either was produced. Also, Resolution 1441 called for a vote by the 15 member Security Council before force was taken. The US and UK acted alone and with blatent disregard to the institution of the United Nations.
Of course, this is one of the reasons the US has lost clout in the world.
I love this country and would like our honor and respect brought back. I don't bash the Bush administration just for fun or to jump on a party bandwagon.
Cheers,

David, Salinas, CA   August 23rd, 2007 8:06 pm ET

Jeff from Houston TX writes:
“Quit acting like this is George W. Bush's fault… At least G. W. put his money where his mouth is”

Actually it was our money, Jeff. About a trillion dollars of it… And thousands of American troops dead and maimed… And our international reputation in tatters…

This irresponsible and reckless war IS George W. Bush’s fault, Jeff. Quit acting like it isn’t.

David, Salinas, CA   August 23rd, 2007 7:47 pm ET

This is a BIG story. John Warner is not just some random republican. He’s a WWII vet, a leading voice on military matters and a former Secretary of the Navy. The Bush administration can’t be happy about this defection.

And for those of you criticizing his appearance: he was married to Elizabeth Taylor and you weren’t.

S Bengtson, Phoenix, AZ   August 23rd, 2007 6:42 pm ET

republicans always do what’s best for republicans, in this case trying to distance them selves from a amazingly unpopular president who they are no longer able to control. Why he is doing the right thing is important but let’s get are people home and then try him along with bush and chenney.

George Smith, Troy, NH   August 23rd, 2007 6:31 pm ET

Very much a class act, him and Dick Lugar from Indiana. THe GOP really, really needs people like that.

RightyTighty   August 23rd, 2007 6:29 pm ET

HELLO in there…,

Republican's DO want to come home from Iraq! We just don't want to abandon the Iraqi's as the dems did the Vietnamese. That's their legacy. We Republicans would like for this one to be different, for the sake of the US and freedom loving Iraqi's.

Don't confuse sending a strong political signal with the cut and run dem strategy.

Kaiser Edmond, Riverdale, GA   August 23rd, 2007 6:17 pm ET

So are saying we since they are only 4 years we have to be there another 221 years?

ReadBtwthlins   August 23rd, 2007 5:59 pm ET

Why are you expecting more from a 4 yr old Iraqi government than from your own 225 yr old government?

Chicago, IL   August 23rd, 2007 5:56 pm ET

It looks like people from his own party are starting to turn against Bush.

James, Phoenix AZ   August 23rd, 2007 5:48 pm ET

LOL - John Swanson / Chicago !!

I thought it was a was figurine of Lincoln clean shaven. And I don't mean what Lincoln would have looked like 150 years ago… rather what he would look like if still living!

MARCY, MARGATE, FL.   August 23rd, 2007 5:44 pm ET

JOHN WARNER DOES WHAT IS GOOD FOR JOHN WARNER AND NOT THE TROOPS AND THE COUNTRY.

John, Ashburn, Virginia   August 23rd, 2007 5:39 pm ET

Another loudmouth Senator interfering with foreign policy based on personal opinion. Whether he's right or wrong, if senate members want to run foreign policy, they need to get elected to the EXECUTIVE branch or keep their useless opinions to themselves. I voted for Warner, but he's past his shelf life.

Jeff Houston, TX   August 23rd, 2007 5:00 pm ET

Dubya? How mature.

It's good to see efforts coming in to put pressure on the Iraqi government. A monthlong recess, while important for visiting constituents and handling affairs, it is unacceptable for a government which has accomplished few of it's most important tasks.

Maybe the Arab world just isn't ready for Democracy, but at least we removed the goon we placed in power back in the 50's. Americans have been meddling in the Middle East since the Cold War. Quit acting like this is George W. Bush's fault. Even Clinton bombed Iraq. At least G. W. put his money where his mouth is, unlike the UN which simply passed a couple hundred resolutions that only hurt the very poor in the country.

Anonymous   August 23rd, 2007 4:52 pm ET

Sen. John Warner is right on! Finally some common sense!
Obama 08!

Cable King Pittsburgh Pa   August 23rd, 2007 4:32 pm ET

Yo John in CA,

So just when did the Iraqi political system ever accomplish anything? Methinks it has possibly been a figment of Dubya's imagination since day one. Or worse, it has been an intentional ruse of Dubya's part. You pick it.

666   August 23rd, 2007 4:27 pm ET

So I guess posting Song lyrics is in poor taste too then? Sorry to be striking so many nerves here cnn, political admin douchebag.

John Swanson Chicago   August 23rd, 2007 4:25 pm ET

AAAAAHHHHHH!!!! Is that a wax sculpture!?!?!??!?! Scared the Bejeezus outta me!

J.B. Oak Lawn IL   August 23rd, 2007 4:22 pm ET

Common-sense red state Republicans like Chuck Hagel and John Warner have shown their Senatorial ability to use their own best judgement and not rubber-stamp the Bush White House. Good for them!

Josue Romano, Buena Park, CA   August 23rd, 2007 4:19 pm ET

Long overdue!

sonny c. v.p.,la.   August 23rd, 2007 4:01 pm ET

On a more serious subject: How do you tell a Rep. politician from a Dem. politician? 1)He probably never served in Vietnam & 2) His kids & his neigbors kids ain't been to Iraq.

John, Ca.   August 23rd, 2007 3:55 pm ET

The Iraqi political system has never accomplished anything until we have set a deadline.

Reference: Elections and their half way done Constitution.

SATIRE IS MY BUSINESS   August 23rd, 2007 3:47 pm ET

SO we are just supposed to guess which Republican flip-floped the MOST recently then I take it? Hmm. Well, thanks for narrowing my choices down CNN, I knew you were good for something.

*This just in* Somewhere on the opposite side of the world, the seasons are opposite and it's nighttime!!! Crazy, I know!

Dane Columbus, OH   August 23rd, 2007 3:46 pm ET

"One of the Senate's top Republicans"? WHO?

Myron, Honolulu, HI   August 23rd, 2007 3:40 pm ET

Right ON

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