Dick Cheney Memoir, Like George Bush's, Says Mitch McConnell Wanted Iraq Troop Withdrawal To Help The GOP Politically.
Well, that’s two fairly highly placed sources.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s memoir, In My Time, is out. And among the revelations in it is his recollection that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., privately advocated a troop withdrawal from Iraq.
That is similar to the account President George W. Bush gave last year in his memoir, Decision Points.
Bush, as you will recall, said that McConnell went to the Oval Office in September 2006, with the midterm elections getting close.
McConnell, according to the president, told Bush that his unpopularity was going to hand control of Congress to the Democrats. Bush asked McConnell what he would suggest. And the Kentucky senator told Bush that he should “bring some troops home from Iraq,” according to the memoir.
McConnell publicly was a vocal supporter of Bush’s Iraq policies and attacked Democrats for calling for troop withdrawals.
At the time Bush’s memoir came out, McConnell spokesman Robert Steurer said that the senator “does not comment on any advice he may have given the president on improving his political standing.”
“But the public record is clear on his unwavering support for ensuring that our troops in the field were fully funded, and that Gen. (David) Petraeus (then the commander of coalition forces in Iraq) was able to execute a counter-insurgency strategy on the ground in Iraq free of arbitrary deadlines for withdrawal, even when it was politically unpopular to do so,” Steurer said in November 2010.
Now comes Cheney’s book, and he contends that 10 months after the 2006 meeting McConnell had with Bush, the senator still was advocating a withdrawal of some troops from Iraq.
Cheney recounts a dinner he and his wife, Lynne, hosted on the evening of July 10, 2007, at the Vice President’s Residence. Key Republican senators, including McConnell, were there, discussing prospects for Iraq war votes in the Senate that might force a change in administration policy.
This is what Cheney writes on page 462:
As dinner broke up, Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell walked over to me. Mitch had been one of the most concerned of the Republicans. He was up for reelection and had suggested to the president that he needed to begin a withdrawal in order to avoid massive defection of Republican senators. “Dick,” McConnell said, “I may have been wrong. Tell the president that I think we may well be able to win these votes and hold the Senate Republicans for the month of July.” That would get us through to the August recess and into September, when Dave Petraeus and Ryan Crocker were scheduled to testify. That was all we needed.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s memoir, In My Time, is out. And among the revelations in it is his recollection that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., privately advocated a troop withdrawal from Iraq.
That is similar to the account President George W. Bush gave last year in his memoir, Decision Points.
Bush, as you will recall, said that McConnell went to the Oval Office in September 2006, with the midterm elections getting close.
McConnell, according to the president, told Bush that his unpopularity was going to hand control of Congress to the Democrats. Bush asked McConnell what he would suggest. And the Kentucky senator told Bush that he should “bring some troops home from Iraq,” according to the memoir.
McConnell publicly was a vocal supporter of Bush’s Iraq policies and attacked Democrats for calling for troop withdrawals.
At the time Bush’s memoir came out, McConnell spokesman Robert Steurer said that the senator “does not comment on any advice he may have given the president on improving his political standing.”
“But the public record is clear on his unwavering support for ensuring that our troops in the field were fully funded, and that Gen. (David) Petraeus (then the commander of coalition forces in Iraq) was able to execute a counter-insurgency strategy on the ground in Iraq free of arbitrary deadlines for withdrawal, even when it was politically unpopular to do so,” Steurer said in November 2010.
Now comes Cheney’s book, and he contends that 10 months after the 2006 meeting McConnell had with Bush, the senator still was advocating a withdrawal of some troops from Iraq.
Cheney recounts a dinner he and his wife, Lynne, hosted on the evening of July 10, 2007, at the Vice President’s Residence. Key Republican senators, including McConnell, were there, discussing prospects for Iraq war votes in the Senate that might force a change in administration policy.
This is what Cheney writes on page 462:
As dinner broke up, Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell walked over to me. Mitch had been one of the most concerned of the Republicans. He was up for reelection and had suggested to the president that he needed to begin a withdrawal in order to avoid massive defection of Republican senators. “Dick,” McConnell said, “I may have been wrong. Tell the president that I think we may well be able to win these votes and hold the Senate Republicans for the month of July.” That would get us through to the August recess and into September, when Dave Petraeus and Ryan Crocker were scheduled to testify. That was all we needed.
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posted by KYJurisDoctor at 5:03 PM
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