by Jill Zuckman
Marking the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, Sen. Hillary Clinton delivered a broad address sharply criticizing the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, for wanting to keep troops there for 100 years, and her Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, for not doing enough to end the war.
Speaking at George Washington University this morning, Clinton tied McCain to President Bush, saying there would be little difference in policy if McCain became president.
“Sen. McCain would gladly accept the torch and stay the course, keeping troops in Iraq for up to 100 years if necessary,” she said. “That in a nutshell is the Bush-McCain Iraq policy – don’t learn from your mistakes, repeat them.”
“We can have hundreds of thousands of troops on the ground for a hundred years, but that doesn’t change the fact that there is no political solution to the situation in Iraq,” said Clinton. “Sen. McCain and President Bush claim withdrawal is defeat. Let’s be clear, withdrawal is not defeat. Defeat is keeping troops in Iraq for 100 years.”
McCain, who is currently visiting Iraq, first used the “100 years” line during a town hall meeting in New Hampshire. He said it did not matter if U.S. troops stayed in Iraq 50 years or 100 years, as long as they are not getting killed. McCain also pointed out that there is a U.S. presence in Korea, Bosnia and Germany, but no one complains because the situation is not dangerous.
McCain campaign spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker accused Clinton of hewing to promises made to the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, rather than acknowledging improvements in Iraq.”At a time when Senator Clinton knows that American and allied forces are making real progress in Iraq, it is unfortunate that she would look to score political points by mischaracterizing Senator McCain’s statement with intellectually dishonest attacks,” said Hazelbaker.
“The differences between Senator McCain’s position, that we must win this war, and Senator Clinton’s position, withdrawal and de facto surrender on day one, are important enough to have an honest debate over,” she said. “It would be the height of irresponsibility to stick with campaign promises to the left-wing of the Democratic Party and proceed with withdrawal regardless of what the situation is on the ground in Iraq in January 2009.”
Clinton did not reserve her criticism for McCain alone. She also charged that Obama did not begin working to end the war until he began running for president. And, she pointed out, one of Obama’s top foreign policy advisers told the BBC that if elected, Obama would not follow his campaign plan to withdraw troops from Iraq. That adviser, Samantha Power, has since resigned.
“I have concrete, detailed plans to end this war and I have not wavered on my commitment to follow through on them,” said Clinton, who pledged to follow through “as responsibly and as quickly as possible.”