Originally published December 27 2005
Hillary Clinton proposes alternative method for withdrawing troops from Iraq
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Sen. Hillary Clinton spoke to reporters about her policy for troop withdrawal, which does not advocate an immediate pullout like some of her colleagues in the Democratic party, but her plan does call for communication of our goals with the Iraqi government, so that they know the U.S. presence in Iraq is not open-ended.
"Then we have to tell this new government we are not going to be there forever, we are going to be withdrawing our young men and women and we expect you to start moving towards stability," Clinton said.
The former first lady said an immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be a "big mistake."
"It will matter to us if Iraq totally collapses into civil war, if it becomes a failed state the way Afghanistan was, where terrorists are free to basically set up camp and launch attacks against us," she said.
"What you hear from the president, the vice president, the secretary of defense is, 'We'll stay as long as it takes until the job is done,'" Clinton said.
Murtha, a combat veteran with close ties to the military, said last week that the United States had accomplished all that it can in Iraq militarily and that it is time to redeploy troops to the periphery.
"My approach is different," the former first lady and current senator said Monday.
After meeting with anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan in September, Clinton held firm to her support for the Iraq war, telling The Village Voice, "My bottom line is that I don't want their sons to die in vain."
Russ Feingold, D-Wis., a potential rival for the 2008 nomination, who has called for a flexible "target date" of Dec. 31, 2006, for withdrawing all U.S. troops from Iraq.
But like 39 of her Senate colleagues, she now supports requiring the president to establish a "schedule" so that, in her words, "we can begin to look at how quickly the Iraqi government assumes responsibility for its own security so that we, in turn, can withdraw our troops."
Clinton, who is running for re-election in 2006, is widely considered to be the front-runner for her party's 2008 presidential nomination, based on her association with the Clinton brand, her fundraising prowess and her institutional support.
Prior to Clinton's recalibration on Iraq, MoveOn.org's Tom Matzzie disapproved of what the senator had to say.
He told ABC News that he sees them as a sign that she now recognizes the importance of having "a view on foreign policy that is different from that of the Republicans."
Clinton came to loggerheads with the anti-war movement following her September interview with the Voice.
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