This is a video, courtesy of ThinkProgress and C-SPAN, of Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), the senior Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee. Lugar spoke last night on the floor of the U.S. Senate, calling on the Bush Administration "to downsize the U.S. military?s role in Iraq and place much more emphasis on diplomatic and economic options." Lugar declares that "those who offer constructive criticism of the surge strategy are not defeatists" and says we need to "move Iraq policy beyond the politics of the moment."
Very interesting, we'll see if Lugar's shift on Iraq leads to any changes in Iraq policy. We'll also see if other Republicans follow Lugar's lead. Sen. Warner, for instance, said last fall that we were moving "sideways" in Iraq. Since then, we haven't heard much from Sen. Warner on the direction our Iraq policy is heading. Sideways or down the drain? Seems like the latter would be a more accurate description at this point.