Opposition to the president’s surge is building on the eve of his State of the Union. The senior senator from Virginia, John Warner, who is the former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a respected voice on military affairs, has completely reversed his support of the president’s policy, going from being a steadfast backer to introducing a Senate resolution against the surge. The resolution is rumored to be a kinder, gentler version of the one introduced roughly a week ago by heavy-duty war critics Biden, Levin, and Hagel.
In the other house of Congress, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Republican of Ohio, will lead a effort by key House Republicans to get the White House to report to Congress every 30 days on the progress made by the Iraqi government. It’s kind of amazing that this sort of oversight has not existed until now.