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This is an archive article published on March 12, 2007
Obama Watch
A vote on the Democratic-authored Iraq resolution expected to hit the Senate floor next week will mark the first time Sen.
Written by Latimes Washingtonpost
March 12, 2007 12:00 AM IST
2 min read
2 min read
A vote on the Democratic-authored Iraq resolution expected to hit the Senate floor next week will mark the first time Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, N.Y., has embraced a legislative deadline for withdrawing from the war-torn nation, a step she has consistently resisted to this point.
The March 31, 2008, date spelled out in the text is described as a 8216;8216;goal,8217;8217; but Democratic leaders said the intent is clear: The war8217;s combat phase should end by that date.
Clinton has carefully laid out her Iraq views in a series of formal plans and speeches and has repeatedly rejected setting a deadline for withdrawal. Yet when and if she casts her vote, those earlier pronouncements will be somewhat eclipsed by the Senate8217;s binding action. That fact touched off an unusual scramble in which even Senate leadership aides were attempting to characterise Clinton8217;s current position as consistent with her previous views. The shadow of presidential politics fell over the resolution within hours of its release Thursday. Some Democrats tried to downplay the role of Foreign Relations Chairman Joe Biden, Del., one of the measure8217;s principal architects. Others noted with amusement that the resolution tracked closely to an Iraq proposal by Sen. Barack Obama, Ill., Clinton8217;s chief rival for the nomination.
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