Snowe, Collins vote against withdrawal timeline

PORTLAND – Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine said they oppose the timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq that was part of legislation the Senate approved Thursday.

Snowe and Collins were on the losing side of the 51-46 vote, which came a day after the House approved the same bill in a 218-208 vote.

Neither the House nor the Senate had the two-thirds vote necessary to override a veto promised by President Bush. And Snowe urged senators to move beyond the current “political lockdown” to join consensus legislation that requires the Iraqi government to achieve specific benchmarks for true national political reconciliation.

“It is now time for all sides to lay down their metaphorical swords and reach consensus on how to most effectively place pressure on the Iraqis to seize control of their own nation’s future and security, so that we can begin a phased redeployment of U.S. troops,” she said.

The $124.2 billion supplemental appropriations bill requires troop withdrawals to begin Oct. 1, or sooner if the Iraqi government does not meet certain benchmarks.

“I continue to believe that telegraphing precise dates for the commencement of troop redeployment would jeopardize the security of our men and women remaining on the ground,” Snowe said in a statement.

Collins opposed the president’s so-called troop “surge” in Baghdad and continues to oppose sending more troops to Iraq. But she described the timeline as “dangerous.”

“I believe that an immediate and rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq could have a host of negative consequences for Iraq and the surrounding region,” Collins said.

Collins insisted she doesn’t support an open-ended commitment to keeping U.S. troops in Iraq. Instead, she wants to give the president’s strategy until August to demonstrate results.

If Bush’s strategy doesn’t show results, “then Congress should consider all options, including a redefinition of our mission and a gradual but significant withdrawal of our troops next year,” Collins said.

A day earlier, Democratic Reps. Tom Allen and Michael Michaud of Maine were divided over the same measure in the House.

“The majority of the House today stood with the majority of the American people who want a new direction that will end U.S. involvement in the increasingly bloody Iraq civil war,” Allen, who voted for the bill, said Wednesday.

Michaud, who declined to support the legislation, said he supported efforts to bring the troops home, but wouldn’t support anything that includes further funding for the war unless it leads to a significant change in U.S. military strategy in Iraq.

“We need a political solution, and unfortunately this funding bill does not fundamentally change our approach,” he said.