Mike Levin: “It could go up to, let's say, 10 months of uncertainty. That is a dangerous period of time, which is, by the way, not…”

“It could go up to, let's say, 10 months of uncertainty. That is a dangerous period of time, which is, by the way, not necessary to create. If my friend wanted a guaranteed vote on whether or not to pull the plug on our forces next year, that can be arranged--a guaranteed vote. But that is not what this is. Let's be very clear on this. This says that unless the majority decides a year from now to authorize something, that automatically then, on automatic pilot, self-effectuating, we are deciding now, and those troops must leave. And it is that dangerous period between now and then--whether it is 10 months, 12 months, or 14 months--it is that destabilizing dangerous period which the NATO Secretary General and General Clark have told us endangers the mission and endangers our troops. It is unheard of, I believe. There is no precedent that we can find for the Senate or the Congress ever deciding in year 1 that unless something is authorized in year 2, relative to a deployment of forces, that those forces must be withdrawn.”