Rangel: Bush Must Compromise On Iraq

As top White House aides and Congressional leaders try to find a way past the political standoff over funding the Iraq war, a powerful House Democrat says President Bush is the one who will have to blink first.

"Our leadership had hoped that, meeting with the president, that we could see some compromise," Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said on Face The Nation. "But as long as the president refuses to do anything except stay the course, then we, in the House ... would constantly send a message to the president that we want him to come up with some idea to withdraw the troops."

Rangel, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, says there is no way his party is giving up its fight, even though President Bush vetoed the first bill that called for bringing the troops home from Iraq in October.

"It would be ridiculous to think that we're going to just drop this fight," Rangel said. "This is not our fight. This is the American people's fight. They asked us to send a message to the president."

Last week, Bush vetoed a $124 billion bill to provided money for Iraq and Afghanistan operations in part because it required troops to begin returning home by Oct. 1, saying the fixed date is unworkable.

Also last week, presidential candidate Sen. Hilary Clinton, D-N.Y., called for a repeal of the authorization the Congress gave the president to go to Iraq.

"Well, I think, frankly, it made her look foolish," former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told Bob Schieffer. "If she's serious about it, then move to cut off the funds. If they can't cut off the funds, then let's get on with trying to win the war. But I think this middle zone of politics while young Americans die is very bad for the country."

Congress can continue to try to push forward a timetable, Gingrich said, but the president will veto it every time. He said it's more important to get money to the troops when the United States remains the war, otherwise their safety and morale will be undermined.

"We should always make certain that those dedicated, brave people are protected no matter what," Rangel said. "And if you don't believe this country is strong enough to make certain that they can safely return home, then we're not being realistic."

But Rangel said the American people have showed how they feel about the war with the 2006 elections and it's time to think about how to leave. He said the U.S. should reach out to friends in Europe and the Middle East and work for a peaceful solution.

"We must follow the people's mandate and do everything that we can to send a message to President Bush that we want to stop the war and we want to bring the troops home," he said. "So if you want to talk about repealing his authority or cutting the funds or setting a timetable, whatever has to be done, he has to stop listening to Dick Cheney."

Most importantly, Rangel said it's time for Americans to stop being placed in the middle of what he called a civil war.

"These people have been fighting each other for centuries," Rangel said. "Who in the devil thinks that we know enough or we're sophisticated enough to stop the civil war that exists there?"