Senate's Runaway Section

This pork laden piece of crap legislation is pretty much the same as that piece of crap the house passed. Here's the runaway clause.

SEC. 1315. REVISION OF UNITED STATES POLICY ON IRAQ. (a) Findings- Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or have served bravely and honorably in Iraq.

(2) The circumstances referred to in the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243) have changed substantially.

(3) United States troops should not be policing a civil war, and the current conflict in Iraq requires principally a political solution.

(4) United States policy on Iraq must change to emphasize the need for a political solution by Iraqi leaders in order to maximize the chances of success and to more effectively fight the war on terror.

(b) Prompt Commencement of Phased Redeployment of United States Forces From Iraq-

(1) TRANSITION OF MISSION- The President shall promptly transition the mission of United States forces in Iraq to the limited purposes set forth in paragraph (2).

(2) COMMENCEMENT OF PHASED REDEPLOYMENT FROM IRAQ- The President shall commence the phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, with the goal of redeploying, by March 31, 2008, all United States combat forces from Iraq except for a limited number that are essential for the following purposes:

(A) Protecting United States and coalition personnel and infrastructure.

(B) Training and equipping Iraqi forces.

(C) Conducting targeted counter-terrorism operations.

(3) COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY- Paragraph (2) shall be implemented as part of a comprehensive diplomatic, political, and economic strategy that includes sustained engagement with Iraq's neighbors and the international community for the purpose of working collectively to bring stability to Iraq.

(4) REPORTS REQUIRED- Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter, the President shall submit to Congress a report on the progress made in transitioning the mission of the United States forces in Iraq and implementing the phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq as required under this subsection, as well as a classified campaign plan for Iraq, including strategic and operational benchmarks and projected redeployment dates of United States forces from Iraq.

(c) Benchmarks for the Government of Iraq-

(1) SENSE OF CONGRESS- It is the sense of Congress that--

(A) achieving success in Iraq is dependent on the Government of Iraq meeting specific benchmarks, as reflected in previous commitments made by the Government of Iraq, including--

(i) deploying trained and ready Iraqi security forces in Baghdad;

(ii) strengthening the authority of Iraqi commanders to make tactical and operational decisions without political intervention;

(iii) disarming militias and ensuring that Iraqi security forces are accountable only to the central government and loyal to the constitution of Iraq;

(iv) enacting and implementing legislation to ensure that the energy resources of Iraq benefit all Iraqi citizens in an equitable manner;

(v) enacting and implementing legislation that equitably reforms the de-Ba'athification process in Iraq;

(vi) ensuring a fair process for amending the constitution of Iraq so as to protect minority rights; and

(vii) enacting and implementing rules to equitably protect the rights of minority political parties in the Iraqi Parliament; and

(B) each benchmark set forth in subparagraph (A) should be completed expeditiously and pursuant to a schedule established by the Government of Iraq.

(2) REPORT- Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 60 days thereafter, the Commander, Multi-National Forces-Iraq shall submit to Congress a report describing and assessing in detail the current progress being made by the Government of Iraq in meeting the benchmarks set forth in paragraph (1)(A).

Looks like they're telling the president how to run a war. Funny, last I saw the constitution left that to the commander in chief, and he isn't a senator.

I like the "United States troops should not be policing a civil war, and the current conflict in Iraq requires principally a political solution" statement. Principally doesn't mean solely. And if they don't understand that the military portion of the solution is the only way that the political solution will ever solidify, then they are bigger imbeciles than they make clearly evident every day.