Obama calls for limit on troops in Iraq
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By Deirdre Shesgreen
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Posted on Thu, Jan. 18, 2007
WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama called for a cap on the number of U.S. troops in Iraq Thursday, stepping up his opposition to the war as the jockeying among Democratic presidential hopefuls on that issue intensifies.
"Simply opposing the surge is not good enough," Obama, D-Ill., said in a speech on the Senate floor, referring to the president's plan to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq. "Congress now has the duty to prevent even more mistakes and bring this war to a responsible end."
Obama's remarks, his most forceful to date, came one day after Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., spoke out harshly against President George W. Bush's plan and outlined a similar proposal to limit U.S. troops in Iraq.
Obama announced on Tuesday that he would form a presidential exploratory committee. He and Clinton, who is also expected to make a White House bid, are likely to dominate a crowded Democratic primary field for 2008. And Iraq will be at the center of that battle, with Democratic Party faithful pressing candidates to take firm stands against the war.
Other contenders have taken a more aggressive stance. Ex-Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., has called for the immediate withdrawal of 40,000 to 50,000 troops. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, has said Congress should stop funding the war entirely as a way to bring U.S. troops home.
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., yet another White House hopeful, has proposed legislation that would require Bush to seek a second congressional authorization before the president could send the additional troops.
Clinton has struggled to reconcile her 2002 vote in favor of the war with her increasingly critical remarks bashing Bush's handling of the conflict. Unlike Edwards, Clinton has not said her initial vote was a mistake, although she recently said if she knew then what she knows now, she would not have supported the resolution authorizing Bush to strike Iraq.
On Wednesday, after a trip to Iraq, Clinton said she would introduce legislation limiting the number of troops in Iraq to their levels on Jan. 1 and establishing new benchmarks for the Iraqi government.
Obama's proposal, as outlined Thursday, would also cap troop levels at their levels as of Jan. 10, the day Bush outlined his new strategy. "This measure would stop the escalation of the war," Obama said.
He said his bill would also call for a phased redeployment of troops from Iraq, requiring the president to announce a "gradual and substantial reduction in U.S. forces." Obama did not give a deadline for full withdrawal but said his plan would "protect American troops without causing Iraq to suddenly descend into chaos."
Obama ended his speech with a dig at his rivals, saying he's been "a consistent and strong opponent of this war" and that he's "tried to act responsibly in that opposition." |
