Clinton, the wife of former President Bill Clinton, has been criticized by some Democrats for supporting authorization of the war in 2002 and for not renouncing her vote as she seeks the U.S. presidency in next year's election.
U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the early front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, has called for a 90-day deadline to start pulling American troops from Iraq.
Clinton, the wife of former President Bill Clinton, has been criticized by some Democrats for supporting authorization of the war in 2002 and for not renouncing her vote as she seeks the U.S. presidency in next year’s election.
“Now it’s time to say the redeployment should start in 90 days or the Congress will revoke authorization for this war,” the New York senator said in a video on her campaign Web site, repeating a point included in a bill she introduced on Friday.
In October 2002, Congress authorized President George W. Bush to take military action in Iraq before the U.S.-led invasion of March 2003.
Republicans blocked the Senate on Saturday from considering a nonbinding measure, adopted on Friday by the House of Representatives, denouncing Bush’s decision to send another 21,500 U.S. troops to Iraq.
In offering what she called a roadmap out of Iraq, Clinton said a visit there last month had made her more determined to start what she called a long overdue withdrawal.
Clinton’s bill would cap the number of troops in Iraq at the January 1 level, prior to Bush’s decision to add 21,500 to the approximately 130,000 soldiers already there.
The buildup is part of a push to quell growing sectarian violence but comes as opinion polls show the majority of Americans disapprove of Bush’s decision to send more troops.
Clinton’s bill would require congressional authorization to exceed her proposed cap on U.S. soldiers in Iraq.
Bush, announcing the troop increase on January 11, said stepping back prematurely would collapse the Iraqi government, tear the country apart “and result in mass killings on an unimaginable scale.”
“If George Bush doesn’t end the war before he leaves office, when I’m president, I will,” Clinton said in the video.
Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, another Democratic presidential hopeful, said last week it was unclear how Clinton planned to end the conflict. Obama has called for a phased withdrawal to be wrapped up by the end of March 2008.
At a January 17 news conference after visiting Iraq, Clinton repeated her call for a phased redeployment as a way of pressing the Iraqi government to shoulder more responsibility for security. But she stopped short then of proposing a deadline for doing so.
Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited
23 thoughts on “Hillary wants troop pullout to start in 90 days”
Ray – I agree that exposing 9/11 would be the best thing that could possibly happen to this country. It would be like turning the clock back to 1776 and starting all over again but with a Constitution already in place. Not overthrowing the government but, instead, forcing it to obey its own law. And I disagree with the first argument against it – that it would be chaos and anarchy. There would be some violence and some people would get hurt, a few would probably die. But overall I believe the people would handle it pretty damn well and stay within the constitutional concepts we have had for 230 and some years. I truly believe our police and military would keep a lid on it and almost all of the population would respect that. However, one thing is certain. Our government would be forced to return to the original intent.
But here is the problem. Everyone in government would do everything they could to prevent it from happening. Even those who know the truth about 9/11. They are all ingrained with the concept that to expose it would destroy the nation. That the American people could not handle it. They will forever prevent the truth being exposed just as they have done with the serial murders of the 60s. Both Kennedys, King, Oswald, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendricks,and a raft of others. The attempts on George Wallace and Teddy Kennedy. The blackballing and threats that forced people like George Carlin, the Smothers Brothers and several other anti-war and anti-government performers of both races off the airwaves and stopped them from any type of public performances.
The heads of the police and the investigative agencies and the justice department will bury the facts just as they did before. As they have always done under the belief that it is best for the nation. In fact, it could be that someone or someone(s) in the CIA or FBI is involved in 9/11 just as they were in the “renderings” of the 60s and early 70s to put down the rebellion or, what some considered, the revolution.
The reality is: that those who could manage to bring the truth to public view would be in imminent danger of having accidents, commiting suicide, overdosing, being killed by the psychotic “lone gunman,” (maybe al Quida or Iranian), or some other tragedy. It would take a person of extraordinary courage to undertake the mission. That is the problem. That is what we would be facing.
Understand that we are all being monitored. Some of us may be watched very close. But as long as we stay within the bounds of our web sites and preach to our own choir, we are no threat, nothing to be concerned about. But if one of us develops a following and/or begins to organize a sizable number of people, look out!
I’m fer Skynyrd! ” Free Bird”
Too bad voting for a president means choosing the lesser of two evils; I say let’s just pick two members of The Allman Brothers Band or two surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd for Prez and VP and let them handle things for awhile.
Start a new party and call it americans for truth. Concentrate all energy to force the truth of 911. When americans see that it was orchastrated by the individuals in DC and the Pentagon, they will revolt en mass on washington and throw those lying thieving killers out in the street. There will be no pity ass debates. No more posing. No more false statements. It will end the war and any future war. The people have to be made aware of what happened that caused this mess. As it stands there are many who do know the truth, but far more who are still blind and gullible. The media still sets the mind of the many. The present political system sucks. It is not transparent, not thruthfull, all selfserving, and totally evil. There can be no change untill everyone knows the full extent of the corruption that entwines government. The truth of 911 will be the shock and awe that will bring total change and perhaps save this country. Nothing else will do it. It has to be all disclosing because they all are guilty in some way or another.
Sandy, we already have something that works on the legality of entering into another war. The Constitution. Bush cannot enter into war without a declaration from Congress. That’s why all the lies to convince Congress to authorize force in Iraq. But this Congress will never authorize the use of force in Iran.
Actually, the president is very limited in what kind of military action he can order on his own. The exception is in the event our nation is attacked but there is a time limit on that without a Declaration of War from Congress.
We all agree that Bush is a half bubble off plumb. But the fears we hear consistantly expressed about Bush going off half cocked and attacking Iran are due to a lack of knowledge about the president’s war powers. And, when it comes to anything nuclear, there is a safeguard process in place to prevent a lunatic from doing the crazy thing. It would take a clandestine collaboration of several unique people to illegally launch a nuclear weapon. A virtual impossibility.
So, lets all relax and concentrate on finding some method of inspiring our senators and congressmen/women to stop avoiding the reality and do what should be done. They must be made to understand that the path to acheiving their goal of obtaining party power lies in prosecuting the criminals in the White House, out house, Pentagon, and woe be gone. And make lying by an elected official a class A felony. Whoever does that has my vote.
SEAL, interesting that Iran put a COMPREHENSIVE offer of talks on the table in 2003 but Karl & Condi threw darts at it and hushed it up. Nope, these people truly are delusional, OR, they DON’T INTEND TO PROMOTE PEACE. After all, don’t the Christo-fascists in this country want the middle east to blow up so Armageddon can occur?
Anthony, you will find a contrail of AIPAC money flying in Billary’s wake…
Bill Clinton allowed AIPAC and Israel increased access (compromise) to our government during his terms. That chicken$hit didn’t do anything to prevent it. He even knew they were listening in on his phone calls with Monica, and did nothing. Now he’s a celebrity.
I will have to admit, though, I was doing better as a worker under Bill Clinton’s leadership than the sweatshop owners we have now. Now I don’t even know if I will ever have a long-term job again. And I’m a highly educated high-tech worker! One of the ones that was supposed to benefit from all of this globalization. What a crock of $hit!
If the Bushits were removed we could bring all the Middle East and European countries to the table and ask for their help is stabalizing Iraq. Surely it would be in the best interest of all involved to stop the bloodshed and allow Iraq to establish a government or governments that would make them happy. It certainly would be worth a try.
I accidently sent before I was finished.
I doubt the republicans understood this condition existed until very recently. They were so focused on party unity, holding the line, and retaining their power they didn’t think to turn around and look the other way. If they had they probably would have caught on to what their misleaders were doing in that country. The blackout of information was just as effective for the republican members of congress as it was for the general public.
The democrats, on the other hand, were facing the right way and knew Bush, his Dick, and that Rummy were getting us into this situation from which there may be no honorable solution. A quandry wherin the only way to prevent the nation from terrible embarassment and loss of prestige/influence/power would be to continue the occupation.
There are thousands of prisoners we have been holding in Iraq since the beginning without the protections of the Geneva Convention. What are the odds that many if not most of them have been subjected to various forms of torture? We already have a few stories from those released. Imagine what it will be like if they are all freed? It could make Saddam look like a boy scout. Prisoners have died in custody. This we know for a fact.
Add to that the stories that will be told of the slaughter of civillians during our assaults upon insurgent strongholds and how those “smart” bombs turned out to be not so smart, missing the targets to land in civillian areas. The Iraqi records, which have been supressed, from the first days show the casualties were 90% civillian. Very few Iraqi soldiers. And the list goes on. This has been the most inept military operation this country has ever been engaged in from start to the present. All because it has been run by idiots. Why do you think there have been so many changes of command? Anyone who disagrees with the genius in the Whitehouse is replaced.
Personally I think the only honorable way out is for us to admit what has been done by removing the guilty from office, prosecuting them ourselves, and appoligizing to the world.
Carl – I don’t believe this has anything to do with why the republicans have circled the wagons around their leader. More logically it has to do with politics, the 2008 elections, and their obligations to the MIC. However, it could very well explain why Impeachment is not on the democrats table.
Clinton is taking money from AIPAC so she will lie about everything pertient to her election of President.
What everyone overlooks is that it’s not a question of getting out of Iraq, it’s how to pay for the war! Running up big bills is something that W has always done. Poppy has always bailed him out. But billions of dollars must be accounted for, and W’s budget proposal is a farce which will only exacerbate the problem. As hatefully ambitious as Hilary is, her husband’s administration resolved the Reagan-Bush deficit handily. All future candidates should be evaluated on their bookkeeping skills!
.
There is no profit in peace, only in war, constant war, just like Leo Strauss said.
.
JimZ (above) for next president. You have my vote.
Seal. You are on the money! We have an enormous task ahead of us starting with the 2008 election. Neither side seems to have an answer for what we know is necessary for America. It’s more than getting out of Iraq as our world prestige is so damaged we may never be able to work with other nations in the future.
Neither side has an answer or even a straight argument in our dealings in the middle east. The Democrats are interesting in getting the power back and the Republicans are interested in not allowing this to happen. Nobody gives a flying fig for the nation itself.
We need to get something together that will work on the legality of entering into another war. That would give us a framework on getting out of Iraq.
We have McCain threatening the women again in his effort to remove Roe v Wade and also his wanting Creation taught in our schools. If this is the best the GOP can come up with so be it for them. Apparently the GOP is still stuck on social prohibitions and have no interest in stopping the war in Iraq and if you read the small print, they want Iran included in the killing fields.
We seem to have some thinking Democrats in Biden, Murtha and Obama but we need more from them on how our Constitution is interpreted at this time. I’m not getting much from Hillary on anything.
I think we all realize that globalization cannot work when designed and implemented by corrupt leaders. We may have to close our borders and bring back what is left of our manufacturing facilities and get back to buying American products. I’ve owned a Japanese car for 20 years and as long as we remain friends with Japan, I will keep my lovely little white car.
I cannot conceive of another 4 to 8 years under the kind of leadership that will be offered to us. I intend to read every word that Obama has to say and hope he continues to support our individual freedoms that so many other politicians are willing to remove. I do not want a strong Christian in the White House as they tend to fall back on a bible verse when they are forced into making war decisions. That old Crusade gene runs very strong in the brains of these people. Somehow right versus wrong is ignored when the big guns are pointed at us.
We went into Iraq too early and for the wrong reasons and we will live to regret this for the next 50 years. We need a leader who admits the mistake and locates some kind of action to repair the damage that was done to America. I don’t give a damn about Bush’s reputation or any of his Administration as they sold us down the river for oil.
We need a new attitude, a new party and a new effort to clean up the corruption. We need new trade agreements and a closed border. We need strong healthy people to tell us what they want. Maybe a new improved American Idol where integrity wins the prize. We need to think as a team and not as Democrats or Republicans.
CHB is the only site on the internet where we can freely express our differences. This should be our home base for the future. I am tremendously impressed with how all of you were able to discuss the global warming issue with truth and concern.
Comments are closed.