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In this current political climate, more Republicans have withdrawn their support for the costly War in Iraq, to join the ranks of those who stand for a new strategy in the Middle East.

Republicans, once reluctant to challenge the President's Iraq War program, are beginning to speak up about a plan that is clearly not working. Along with a recent deployment of 150,000 fresh troops - portended by the long shadows of 3,500 gravestones - losses in Republican congressional support are gaining momentum.

But the dissenting pleas in floor speeches do not call for immediate withdrawal, as Republican Senator George Voinovich explained in a letter to President Bush, "We must not abandon our mission, but we must begin a transition where the Iraqi government and its neighbors play a larger role in stabilizing Iraq."

In September 2007, the effectiveness of President Bush's troop deployments and surges will be evaluated by Congress. When a strong Republican push for a new course is expected. "I think that the handwriting is on the wall, that we are going in a different direction in the fall, and I expect the president to lead it," foretold Republican Senator Mitch McConnel.

In addition to GOP defections, the public eye has shifted its focus away from Bush toward potential successors. And GOP candidates have increased the distance between their reputations and their commander-in-chief.

Republican Senator Richard Lugar, a true dignitary of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made points which may reflect the expected "recalibration" of strategy in Iraq. Reading from a prepared speech on June 25, 2007, he noted how a continued military concentration in Iraq "is limiting our diplomatic assertiveness there and elsewhere in the world." Referring to the current troop surge, he noted how the present political climate encroaches on the time required to achieve success. He then added how a continuance of the War, associated with polarizing political debate could ultimately lead to "a poorly planned withdrawal that undercuts our vital interests in the Middle East" - our primary interest being oil. Lugar's wisdom informs us that the time is now.

As more GOP congressmen publicly abandon the unsustainable nature of Bush's military-heavy strategy, more potential votes are added to the total number needed to ship American soldiers from sand to home soil.

Learn more about this author, Nikolaus Federmann.
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