Any plan that expects Bush to change the course on Iraq voluntarily just won't work

News from Capitol Hill yesterday afternoon was that Senators Lugar and Warner have a new proposal to deal with the Iraq war:

Anticipation for the Warner-Lugar plan had been quietly building all week, particularly among the Republicans who have called for a new course in Iraq. The senators said lawmakers from both parties had expressed an interest in endorsing the plan, although it remained an open question whether it went far enough for Democratic critics of the war.

The proposal would require Mr. Bush to present to Congress by Oct. 16 contingency plans to switch to a narrower mission in Iraq, including the protection of Iraqi borders, training Iraqi forces, protecting American military personnel and going after terrorists. The senators said the plan should begin by Dec. 31.

Oh boy. The two Republicans, who both chaired key committees, are clearly not happy with Bush's Iraq policies. That's good. So what's the catch? Based on what CNN's Dana Bash just reported, their proposal "would not mandate" that Bush implement the new plan. AP reports the same thing via Majority Leader Harry Reid:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid balked at the proposal because it would not require Bush to implement the strategy. He said he prefers legislation the Senate will vote on next week that would order combat troops to be out of Iraq by next spring.

Warner and Lugar "put a lot of faith in the president - that he will voluntarily change course and voluntarily begin to reduce the large U.S. combat footprint in Iraq," said Reid spokesman Jim Manley in a statement.

So while Bush would have to come up with "a contingency plan" under the Lugar/Warner bill, he would not be required to put that plan into effect. Come on. Have these Republicans learned nothing? What makes them think that Bush will somehow own up to the crisis he's created and and that he'll understand the need to change the course? Thursday's bizarro "stay the course" press conference should disabuse everyone of that notion.

The media and the moderates will probably rally around the Lugar/Warner bill, but unless it has real teeth and precise, explicit mandates, it gets us nowhere. We need strong legislation that forces Bush to change course if we're ever going to get closer to ending this disastrous war. The only legislation currently on the Senate docket to accomplish that goal is the bill offered by Senators Jack Reed and Carl Levin. They have written binding legislation, and that is the only thing that will force Bush's hand -- or as they note, their bill "gives the President no choice."

I keep saying this, but it's like an intervention. Bush keeps saying he doesn't have a problem and all the GOP enablers keep coming up with new ways to deal with the problem that Bush doesn't think he has. Therein lies the major fault with all of the so-called moderate solutions. Any reliance on Bush to change the course is just plain futile.

And, in case we need any reminding why Congress needs to act now and not wait, consider this line from an AP article posted yesterday on Think Progress:

Between now and September the battle for Baghdad will intensify, likely costing hundreds of American troops’ lives.

Enough already. It's not worth it anymore.