News Features

Candidates' stances on the war in Iraq

By PROVIDENCE PHOENIX STAFF | July 11, 2007

Here’s a look at where the Democratic presidential candidates stand on the war in Iraq, as described by their own campaign Web sites.

Candidate	Position on Iraq War
US Senator Joe Biden	Now calls his 2002 voted to authorize the war a mistake. Wants a federalized Iraq with Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis having their own states, linked with a phased redeployment of most US troops out of Iraq by the end of 2007. Opposes permanent bases in Iraq.
US Senator Hillary Clinton	Voted to authorize the war in 2002. Has not called it a mistake. Supports capping troop levels at the January 2007 level and legislation to demand troop withdrawals begin in 90 days or to create an October 2007 deadline, at which point Congressional authorization for the war will expire. Opposes permanent bases in Iraq.
US Senator Chris Dodd	Now calls his 2002 voted to authorize the war a mistake. Wants US troops moved out of urban centers, into more rural and stable areas of Iraq, and most troops out of Iraq by March 2008. Opposes permanent bases in Iraq.
Former US Senator John Edwards	Now calls his 2002 vote to authorize the war a mistake. Has called on Congress to cap troops at 100,000 and immediately begin withdrawing the rest. Within a year, all remaining troops would be brought home, US military bases would be shut, and the US would strive toward a political solution through intra-Iraq diplomacy and engagement with Iraq’s neighbors, including Iran and Syria.
Former US Senator Mike Gravel	Opposed the war from the beginning. Wants all US troops home within 60 days, combined with aggressive diplomacy.
US Representative Dennis Kucinich	Voted against authorizing the war in 2002. Wants immediate withdrawal of US troops, closing of military bases in Iraq, a process of national reconciliation, and all contracting work turned over to the Iraqi government combined, with regional and international diplomacy.
US Senator Barack Obama	Opposed the war from the beginning. Wants all combat troops out by March 2008. Supports efforts to end the conflict through strengthening democratic institutions, political negotiation and engagement with regional neighbors and international allies. Opposes permanent bases in Iraq.
Governor Bill Richardson	Knowing what he knows now, he would have opposed the war authorization in 2002. Wants Congress to de-authorize the war and wants all the troops out in six months, as well as a national reconciliation process and regional diplomacy.

Also, read: "The push to replace Bush: Rhode Islanders are getting busy supporting their favorite democrats." By Mathew Jerzyk.

Related: Bush's secret army, Trapped in Iraq, The Host, More

Bush's secret army
The 9/11 attacks provided a catalyst: an unprecedented justification to forge ahead with a radical agenda molded by a small cadre of neoconservative operatives.
Trapped in Iraq
Watching the Senate Armed Services and the Foreign Relations Committees question Iraq proconsul General David Petraeus about the status of the war was a disturbing experience.
The Host
Running a rubber-gloved finger across gallons of dust-covered bottles of formaldehyde, a US military official orders a Korean morgue attendant at a US Army base in Seoul to “empty every bottle to the very last drop.
Q is for quagmire
In response to your recent coverage of the president’s policy in Iraq, I would like to point out that the House of Representatives passed an amendment to the 2006 Supplemental Appropriations Act which forbids the Pentagon from entering into any basing agreement with the government of Iraq.
Iraq + surge = ???
Certain that the newly elected Democratic Congress will not end American involvement in the Iraq War, Rhode Island peace movement leaders are calling for additional demonstrations to bring US troops home.
Debating the Middle East muddle
US military aid to Pakistan and Afghanistan is being wasted and should be redirected to the police and moderate non-violent groups working for education and the rule of law, according to two Middle East experts who spoke Sunday at the Community Church of Providence.
Examining the state of Iraq's democracy
Why don't people laugh out loud, or at least guffaw, when they hear about US troops overseas assisting elections? Too many US states and municipalities have dysfunctional voting systems for us to be proudly tutoring anyone else.
Cutting off your taxes to spite Uncle Sam
Take Larry Dansinger, who lives in Monroe, and who has withheld some or all of his owed taxes for years in opposition to US military action and policy.
Sex, Iraq, and pop culture
How many times a day do you think about sex? How many times a day do you think about the war in Iraq?
Soldiers committing suicide
On July 22, 2004, unable to handle the intensity anymore — the daily vomiting, the feeling that he was a murderer — Lucey wrapped a garden hose around his neck and hanged himself.
Reality bites
The war in Iraq has been on the back burner of the American political scene for some time.
Less

Topics: News Features , Barack Obama, U.S. Government, U.S. Congressional News, More

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