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A little-noticed earmark tucked into the 2009 defense-spending bill by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) would fund a $2.4 million independent study on withdrawing troops from Iraq.
The study could bolster arguments by Democrats and their presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), that the United States should withdraw troops from Iraq and send more soldiers to Afghanistan.
Obama’s rival, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), has opposed any drastic troop reductions in Iraq. If McCain wins the presidency, the study could give Senate Democrats leverage in their effort to force a troop withdrawal.
The provision includes no “justification” language describing exactly what the study would entail. The RAND Corporation is assigned to conduct the study, which is expected to be completed within four months to coincide with the inauguration of a new president.
Kennedy and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), both fierce opponents of the Iraq war, suggest the study would determine the impact of withdrawing troops from Iraq.
“Sen. Kennedy believes that the best way to protect our troops and our national security is to set a realistic timetable that encourages Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future,” Kennedy spokesman Anthony Coley told The Hill in an e-mail statement. “He believes strongly that it’s past time for us to change course, and this analysis will provide an objective and independent perspective on how best to do that.”
Kennedy, who has only visited the Senate once since undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, gave critical early support to Obama’s campaign. The endorsement by the patriarch of the Kennedy family bolstered Obama during his battle against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), when it was unclear whether powerful Democrats would support him.
To win the earmark for a “phased redeployment study,” Kennedy’s office worked with Byrd and Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the head of the Appropriations Defense panel.
In a floor speech on Sept. 27, the day the Senate passed the defense bill and a continuing resolution, Byrd said the study would assume the U.S. would only leave a small number of troops behind in Iraq to “train Iraqis, target al Qaeda and protect our mission after the withdrawal of the majority of our forces.”
Byrd stressed in his remarks that a study of this scope “is long overdue” and that now is the time to withdraw troops from Iraq. “This new RAND study will publicly and independently help chart the responsible course ahead,” the veteran senator said.
RAND is a federally and state-funded research and development center and is often considered an independent research arm of the Pentagon. The organization is an independent and nonprofit think tank with principal locations in Santa Monica, Calif.; Arlington, Va.; and Pittsburgh.
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