A November 15 report on NBC's Today presented as a Republican initiative a plan first proposed by Senate Democrats that would require regular reporting by the Bush administration to Congress on progress in withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. The Republican amendment is in most respects the same as the Democrats' amendment, except that the Republicans dropped a requirement for a timetable for withdrawal.

The Today characterization contradicted that day's edition of NBC News' daily political memo, First Read, which described the amendment as a Democratic proposal and noted that the Senate vote on “a weaker GOP version that would require reports but no exit strategy.”

The Today segment consisted of an interview only with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), whom host Matt Lauer misleadingly introduced as “one of the authors of the plan.” The Hill newspaper reported that during a press conference on November 14, Democrats distributed copies of their amendment and told reporters that handwritten changes -- including the excise of the timetable requirement and the replacement of the original co-sponsor names with those of Frist and Sen. John Warner (R-VA) -- were made by the Republicans, who adopted the product as their own amendment. Frist chief of staff Eric Ueland disputed that claim, telling the newspaper, “Our amendment came first.”

During the Today interview, Frist repeatedly characterized the Democrats' “version” of the amendment as seeking a “cut and run” policy of withdrawal. In fact, the Democrats' amendment would require that the administration “provide a campaign plan with estimated dates for the phased redeployment of our troops from Iraq as each condition is met, with the understanding that unexpected contingencies may arise.”

From the November 15 article in The Hill:

Democrats claimed victory yesterday by noting that many provisions of an amendment offered by Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) are identical to the Democrats' amendment. But there are key differences. The Democratic call for a timetable for withdrawal was excised from the GOP version, a statement that “United States military forces should not stay in Iraq indefinitely” was changed to say that they should not be there “any longer than necessary,” and the first report, required in 30 days by the Democratic amendment, would be required 90 days after enactment of the defense authorization measure under the GOP plan.

[...]

At their press conference, Democrats circulated a copy of their amendment with Democratic co-sponsors crossed out, Warner and Frist's names inserted, and the key changes made in pen.

“That is their handwritten changes to our amendment,” [Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) spokesman Jim] Manley said in an e-mail. “We drafted, provided them our text, and then they made changes to our amendment and filed it as theirs.”

From the November 15 NBC News First Read political memo:

President Bush is now in Asia, but his parting shot that Democrats are playing politics on Iraq hangs in the air as the Senate prepares to vote on a Democratic proposal that would require Bush to offer regular status reports and an exit strategy for the war. The Senate will also vote on a weaker GOP version that would require reports but no exit strategy, prompting the question of whether this amounts to acknowledgement that they see a need to start talking about getting out of Iraq.

From the November 15 broadcast of NBC's Today:

LAUER: Good morning. Exit strategy: Senate Republicans set to introduce a plan that could bring us troops home from Iraq. Is there really an end in sight? This morning, an exclusive interview with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

[...]

LAUER: And good morning, welcome to Today on a Tuesday morning. I'm Matt Lauer.

COURIC: And I'm Katie Couric. President Bush and Republicans in Congress, as you know, Matt, are taking a real beating over the war in Iraq and other issues, according to a new poll out today. Now a new proposal from Republicans maps out an exit strategy for U.S. troops there.

LAUER: That's right. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is one of the authors of that plan. We're going to talk to him. He's at a Habitat for Humanity site, we should explain. We're gonna talk to him in just a couple of minutes.

[...]

COURIC: On “Close Up” this morning: a possible exit plan in Iraq. As we reported, the Senate is considering a Republican proposal today that would put Iraqi troops front and center in the defense of their nation and could ultimately lead to the withdrawal of U.S. troops there. Republican Senator Bill Frist is the majority leader. He's at a Habitat for Humanity site on the National Mall in Washington D.C. Senator Frist, good morning to you.

FRIST: Katie, good to be with you bright and early this morning.

COURIC: Well, thank you, and we'll talk about your Habitat for Humanity work in just a moment. But let me ask you a few questions if I could, Senator, about the news of the day. I know that later today, you and Senator Warner of Virginia will be talking about a plan to get U.S. troops out of Iraq. What exactly are you proposing?

FRIST: Yeah, Katie, in about three hours on the floor of the Senate, we will have a vote. It'll be a proposal put forth by the Democrats and one put forth by the Republicans and myself and John Warner on our side, and both are very similar in saying that there are gonna be certain reporting requests from the administration on progress that's being made in Iraq, and real progress is being made. The difference in the two amendments, and there'll be a vote on their side and on our side, is that they have a provision in that is sort of a cut-and-run provision that basically says we're gonna be gettin' out of Iraq, Mr. President, give us a timeline when we're gonna be out. Our provision does not say that. It says that we're gonna have a goal of a safe, orderly, systematic Iraq in the future that is gonna be secure, and that is gonna be the goal, one of that is prosperous, one that's under the rule of law, and with that no specific timelines are gonna be set, but that is gonna be the goal.

COURIC: Well isn't that what the administration is trying to do already, Senator Frist, after all?

FRIST: Indeed it is. And that's exactly what they are doing, and real progress has been made in Iraq. And that reporting between the administration and the legislative branch, we think, is very important to keep us informed as we go forward. We're working on the grounds of compassion, protection, prevention, and accountability, and all of those are built into the amendment - actually, in both amendments. The difference is that the Republican amendment is not a cut-and-run amendment. It's an amendment that says we're gonna continue to make progress towards a safe and prosperous and a secure Iraq under the rule of law, and that is the goal.

COURIC: But with all due respect, Senator Frist, can you tell me some specifics? Are you requiring Iraqi security forces to be better trained or more quickly trained?

FRIST: Well, we're not requiring that because that's already being done. If you look at just a year ago, there were five Iraqi battalions, and now there are 91 Iraqi battalions; progress is being made. What we're asking in the legislative branch is the continued reporting in an ongoing way of progress that is being made, and with that we can make certain judgment as to what we would request of the administration. Right now, our troops have the full support, we're gonna give them the full support to reach that goal of a safe and prosperous and secure Iraq.

COURIC: And I apologize, we're having some technical problems with your microphone, and we're trying to work on that, but we can hear you, just -- it's a little bit difficult. Are you concerned, though, that this proposal will add fuel to the fire that the president has been discussing recently, that it may erode America's standing in the world if it even appears to be a cut-and-run strategy and it might embolden the enemy and hurt morale of the troops who are over there?

FRIST: Yes, and I have a huge fear that the amendment that has been put forth by the Democrats which has this cut-and-run provision is one that sends a very dangerous message to our troops [unintelligible] --

COURIC: OK, Senator Frist, I'm sorry to interrupt you, we really can't understand you very well because of our technical problems. We're gonna go to Matt, try to get that fixed, and then hopefully come back to you, so stand by for just a moment.

[...]

COURIC: Matt, thanks, let's go back now to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. We had some audio problems earlier that have now been fixed. Senator, our apologies. Good morning again.

FRIST: Good morning, Katie.

COURIC: Let me ask you about this proposal. Other than parroting the goals of the White House, can you explain to the American people specifically what you want this proposal to do?

FRIST: Yeah, what this amendment does it basically expresses the strong support for our troops right now and our current policies in Iraq. What it does add is a regular reporting between the administration to the legislative body. What my amendment does is basically says, let's have that reporting. The Democrats' amendment, and I think it's a partisan-driven -- maybe in large part partisan-driven -- says that we need a strict timeline when we're gonna cut and run. I'm adamantly opposed to that. That will be defeated on the floor of the United States Senate. The Senate will speak loudly today that, yes, we want regular reporting from the administration to the United States Senate.

COURIC: Right.

FRIST: But we're not gonna cut and run, we're gonna fulfill that goal of a safe, prosperous, and democratic Iraq.

COURIC: So you think the White House isn't being held accountable enough in terms of what's going on in Iraq?

FRIST: Well, I think the White House is actually doing a very good job, I think.

COURIC: Well then why are you requiring quarterly reports?

FRIST: Well, because I do wanna hear exactly the progress that's being made. Right now, the American people and most of my colleagues don't know that a year ago we had five Iraqi battalions and now we have 91; that we participated in the building of over 150 health facilities and over 3,000 schools. We wanna know both military progress as well as civil progress. Right now, that's simply not breaking through, either to the American people or to the United States Congress.

COURIC: Is this a response to public opinion polls that show support for this war eroding significantly?

FRIST: You know, I don't believe so. I think what it basically says is that we the American people need a better accounting of all the progress that's being made, whether it's schools, education, the fact that 10 million people voted a month ago and a month from now another 12 million people are gonna vote, that 30 months ago Saddam Hussein fell, and already that in 30 months we've had three elections. We've had two actually over a period of about six weeks that show that we're moving towards a free, democratic, safe, and secure Iraq, and that, in turns, make the United States safer as well.