| How else to interpret this? U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays joined some critics of the Iraq war Friday as he proposed legislation to restrict tours of duty for service personnel in Iraq.
"It is unreasonable to ask our soldiers to return to Iraq on third and fourth tours," the 4th District Republican said. He would limit tours of Army and Army Reserves to 12 months and Marines and Marine Reserves to seven months.
Shays has been a staunch backer of Bush administration war policy, but earlier this month, he said he would back a plan to withdraw most U.S. troops by December 2008. He said Friday he would support a plan identical to one authored in the Senate by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and war critic Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.
(Update: There may in fact be another way to interpret it, which is that he's now supporting the Webb amendment but not the Senate version of the Defense Authorization itself. But if so, he would then be supporting the very strategy that is forcing soldiers to return for multiple tours with little rest.)
Only last week, the surge was "working":
Despite the steady onslaught of roadside bombings and sectarian violence in Iraq, Rep. Christopher Shays said that the controversial troop surge ordered by President Bush is succeeding.
"I think the surge is going frankly very well," Shays, R-Conn., said Friday in a telephone interview.
Only two weeks ago, he voted against withdrawal, calling the same bipartisan legislation "foolish."
Only a few months ago, he claimed Congress didn't have any power to impose a timeline:
MATTHEWS: And where will you vote?
SHAYS: I`m a strong no. I`m a strong no because I think the timeline is simply too quick. I think it is micromanaging the war. I think we do need timelines. I think the president should come to Congress with timelines and state when we remove first our combat troops and then when we remove our support troops. But I don`t think we should be the ones setting that timeline. Based on what?
Shays will be bringing his particular and entertaining brand of complete insanity to the airwaves this weekend on CNN's Late Edition.
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