Strategic Assessment

Come spring 2008, Congress will once again take up the issue of reducing the number of American troops in Iraq. Unless afterwards there is a dramatic change for the worse on the ground, this will likely be the last time that this Congress tries to assert its influence on the issue, given the election season to follow. As during 2007, paradoxical though it might sound, the Republican minority will play a decisive role in the political interaction. Hitherto, almost all Republicans stood by their president’s refusal to withdraw American troops from Iraq; a significant number might change their tune knowing that elections are a mere six months ahead.