Sen. Clinton (Sort Of) Opposes More US Troops in Iraq... Or Does She?
Responding to a Meredith Viera question about the viability of Sen John McCain's push to send more U.S. troops...20,000 to 30,000.. to Iraq in a one-time "surge" of strength, Sen. Clinton replied:
"It depends on what is the mission of those troops. I am not in favor of doing that unless it's part of a larger plan.I am not in favor of sending more troops to continue what our men and women have been told to do with the government of Iraq pulling the rug out from under them when they actually go after some of the bad guys."
Hillary Clinton's Iraq War Double-Speak
In 2002, Sen. Clinton voted YES to send U.S. troops , and unlike former Senator John Edwards, she has not apologized for her vote.
In fact, since the war's start almost 4 years ago, Sen. Clinton has consistently sent confusingly mixed signals about her support, or lack thereof, for the Iraq War, much to the chagrin of frustrated liberals.
Wrote the Washington Post in December 2005," At a time when politicians in both parties have eagerly sought public forums to debate the war in Iraq, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) has kept in the shadows. Clinton has stayed steadfastly on a centrist path, criticizing President Bush but refusing to embrace the early troop withdrawal options that are gaining rapid favor in her party.
This careful balance is drawing increasing scorn from liberal activists, frustrated that one of the party's leading lights has shown little appetite to challenge Bush's policy more directly and embrace a plan to set a timetable for bringing U.S. forces home."
During a June 2006 speech to a conference for progressives, Sen. Clinton was loudly booed when she opposed setting a timetable for withdrawing U.S forces from Iraq.
And today, more trademark Clintonian doublespeak on the Iraq War...
The Iraq War Effect on the 2008 Democratic Race
In the last few months, 3 Democrats have withdrawn their names from consideration for the 2008 presidential race Democratic nomination:
* Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), a centrist who voted YES in 2002 for the Iraq War;* Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, a long-time supporter of the Iraq War who has steadfastly refused to endorse U.S. troop withdrawal; and
* Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), a progressive opponent of the Iraq War who insisted last week that "We need a timeline to redeploy our troops from Iraq... If the president won’t act on a timeline, Congress needs to do so right away next year."
Of all the "frontrunners" for the 2008 Democratic nomination, only Barack Obama publicly opposed the Iraq War in 2002.
You can read the full text of his hard-to-find, 2002 speech opposing the Iraq War HERE at Obama's Stirring Speech Against the Iraq War.
I predict that Senator Clinton's intentionally vague stances on the various Iraq War viewpoints... ranging from U.S. troop withdrawal to sending more U.S. troops to that decimated, war-torn country... will cost her the 2008 Democratic nomination for the presidency.
If she runs for the presidency in 2008...
(After watching her on the Today Show, I remain unconvinced that she plans to pursue it. Hillary, a stridently amibitious politico, appeared utterly devoid of passion for the 2008 race.
And interestingly, she praised Barack Obama, "He's terrific... I have very high regard for him... (He is) someone who has a lot to contribute to the national dialogue.")
Recommended Reading
Profile of U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York
Senator Hillary Clinton Booed at Liberal Conference
Barack Obama's Stirring 2002 Speech Opposing the Iraq War
Washington Post, Dec 12, 2005: Hillary Clinton Crafts Centrist Stance on War
Comments
I kind of feel like Hilary is trying to figure out a solid plan for Iraq before she commits to running and commits to a side. I think she knows better, politically, than to just say “the war is bad.” Considering she’s THE frontrunner in the polls for 08 (if she decides to run), she’s in the position where she’d have to come out with a solid plan and I get the feeling she doesn’t want to be direct about it until she has that plan. Still, I wish she’d just say that rather than hem and haw.
I think she knows that, if she were to apologize and admit her vote was a mistake in 02, nobody would let her get off without laying out a clear plan. (There is, after all, a huge gulf in likelihood between a Hilary nomination and an Edwards nomination. Plus she’s a woman and she’s Hilary, so she has to prove herself more than those guys …) My guess is she doesn’t have that plan nailed down yet, so she’s keeping her mouth shut as much as she can.
I agree with Kim. I read an article quote Clinton’s reasons why she won’t apologize, and that’s that she acted the way she had to with the information she did have - like everyone else. In 2002, she was not the first lady, not in the White House, but had the state of New York to look after, and therefore most definitely did not have secret intellegence that would have pointed to what Bush was saying was false. Abraham Lincoln once said that “There is nothing more terrible than ignorance in action,” and I believe the Hillary Clinton is still trying to make sense of things before coming out with a definite answer or plan. Things are much deeper and much harder to simply pull out of now, and that’s something we all have to consider.