WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., is preparing to renew his call for a change in Iraq policy this week based on congressional testimony, the Detroit News reported.
Levin has been consistently calling for setting a troop withdrawal deadline, narrowing the role U.S. troops play in Iraq and pushing the Iraqi government to assume more responsibility, the newspaper said.
Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has repeatedly failed to win the necessary 60 Senate votes to force the issue into the White House but said he plans to pounce on testimony given this week to Congress by the top U.S. military leader in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker as ammunition for another bid, the News report said.
"Is there risk? There's risk in any policy anybody is proposing," Levin said. "The question is whether the status quo is acceptable."
A measure addressing the plan was written by Levin and Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who has made several trips to Iraq to study to situation. They appear to be close to getting a key Republican as an ally since Sen. John Warner, R-Va., has indicated he may break with the White House and embrace a withdrawal plan, the newspaper said.
