Posted on 10/26/2005 2:16:10 PM PDT by Hadean
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - United States should pull 20,000 troops from Iraq after parliamentary elections there in December, a leading Senate Democrat said on Wednesday, arguing that it would weaken support for an insurgency fueled by resentment of the U.S. presence.
Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, who failed to unseat Republican President George W. Bush last year, said in blistering speech at Georgetown University that the administration must change course in Iraq or there will be "the prospect of indefinite, and even endless conflict."
A number of Democrats and some Republicans have called on Bush to provide a plan for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, but few have suggested a specific starting point.
Bush has opposed a withdrawal timetable, saying it would encourage insurgents in the bloody conflict that has killed 2,000 U.S. soldiers.
Kerry called for a 12- to 15-month plan linking a political settlement in Iraq and the withdrawal of U.S. troops to specific benchmarks. "At the first benchmark, the completion of the December elections, we can start the process of reducing our forces by withdrawing 20,000 troops over the course of the holidays," Kerry said.
Most remaining U.S. troops, other than Special Operations forces, should be moved to rear-guard status for security backup, Kerry said. "We do not need to send young Americans on search-and-destroy missions that invite alienation and deepen the risks they face ... Iraqis should stand up for Iraq."
"We must move aggressively to reduce popular support for the insurgency fed by the perception of American occupation," he said.
To speed up the training of Iraqi forces, Kerry said offers from Egypt, Jordan, France and Germany to take Iraqis for training should be accepted.
Kerry also urged a U.S.-convened conference of Iraq's neighboring countries, NATO allies and Russia to try to bring the Iraqi factions to a political compromise, with security guarantees among Iraqis.
He called for a rebuilding fund earmarked for Sunni areas in Iraq to encourage Sunni political participation. Overall reconstruction efforts should be jump-started by deploying civil-military teams and streamlining funds-disbursement to the provinces, he said.
Kerry's presidential bid was hurt by what some saw as a confusing stance on the Iraq war. He voted to authorize the use of force, but later opposed a spending bill to finance the war. He has blasted Bush for exaggerating the threat posed by Saddam Hussein and for mishandling the operation.
That guy is such the traitor.
How about if we pull 20 DemocRAT Senators from the Senate instead?
Hmmmmm less than 5 months ago he said this:
Kerry Calls for More Troops in Iraq, Bolstering U.S. Military
May 28 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry called for 40,000 more U.S. troops in Iraq, saying he would ``modernize our military to match its new missions'' in the war on terror and homeland security.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a3ixw0UrP_u4&refer=us
He has blasted Bush for exaggerating the threat posed by Saddam Hussein and for mishandling the operation
Yet Senator Froggy voted yea on the Iraq Liberation Act in 1997!
I guess logic must have been one of the courses he flunked at Yale!
Hey Kerry!!! If you want to run the country try getting elected~~until then, shut up and sit down.
Kerry is an opportunist fool...he knows it's SOP to rotate troops out over Christmas from forward deployed areas...only to redeploy similar numbers a few weeks later.
And, yes, Kerry always the traitor...it's never about the mission, but always about how "John Kerry" can look good.
That guys deserves a little louisville slugger reeducation...
Hey, John Kerry, if the American people cared about what you said, they would have elected you president.
Pull military records from your arse before '08 election - Infidel29
And demand they throw their medals over the White House fence! Stomp, stomp! Fume.
Hasn't any kind soul taken this man aside, and whispered in his ear just what a complete loser he is?
Though Kerry is pathetic, in toto this is good news for the GOP..The Dems are being puled HARD left, over the cliff..and it will increase pressure on Hillary, to also call for a bug out..
Try and say that 3 times fast
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