Lamont Calls on Lieberman to Come Clean on Plans to End US Involvement in Iraq
Lamont Calls on Lieberman to Come Clean on Plans to End US Involvement in Iraq
Iraqi Prime Minister Says Iraqi Forces Ready to Stand Up
Release Date: August 23, 2006
For More Information Contact: Tom Swan
(Statewide) - Throughout this campaign Democratic nominee for Senate Ned Lamont has boldly stood up and declared that the Bush/Lieberman stay the course' strategy in Iraq is not a winning strategy. Lamont has called to begin bringing our brave troops home so the Iraqi soldiers can step forward and take control of their own country. Today, the Iraqi Prime Minister has declared their forces are ready to stand up and fight for their country. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced that his forces would be ready to assume control of most of Iraq's provinces within months.1
"I applaud the brave people of Iraq for standing up to fight for their country," said Democratic Nominee for US Senate Ned Lamont. "Iraq now has a democratic government, and the Prime Minister has said its security forces will soon be able to protect it. This is welcome news. If we really want the Iraqi government to succeed, we need to begin to bring our troops home so our military will not be a crutch and so that the Iraqis will take responsibility for their own security and their own future. To really keep American safe, the President needs to regain our focus on the real war - the war on terror - rebuild our military, catch Osama Bin Laden and truly demonstrate that we learned the lessons of 9-11 by implementing the recommendations of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission to keep us safe."
Lamont continued, "Joe Lieberman needs to come clean about his plans for the future of Iraq. Now that the democratically-elected Iraqi Government has declared it can defend itself, Joe Lieberman needs to tell the people of Connecticut how he's going to end U.S. involvement in Iraq. Given his recent comments, it's becoming less and less clear what Joe really believes our mission is in Iraq, why he supported the war, and more and more clear that he has no plan to get us out."
Today, on the Imus in the Morning Show this morning Joe Lieberman said, "We have to view the Iraqi war in the larger context of the war we're in against Islamist terrorists." 2
Yesterday, while appearing on the ultraconservative Glen Beck radio show, Lieberman agreed with Beck that we went to war to "try to change the face of the Middle East. The weapons of mass destruction were a nice side benefit. We were trying to go and pop the head of the snake in Iran." Lieberman added that President Bush "oversold the WMD part of the argument ." to the American people.3
Also, President Bush recently said that as long as he's president, the United States will not pull American troops out of Iraq, and Joe Lieberman echoed those points yesterday on CNN.
"Joe owes Connecticut voters an explanation of his vote for the war, his rubberstamping of Bush's failed policies, and his comments about our mission there. He is out of step with Connecticut voters, and his "stay the course" strategy is threatening America's security. While Iraq was not part of the war on terror before we invaded, today our failed policy is emboldening terrorists and recruiting new one. Iran and North Korea are developing nuclear weapons, and both are continuing to benefit from our failed policy in Iraq. We need a new direction in Iraq and we need new leadership at home to provide it."
http://nedlamont.com/news/1224/lamont-calls-on-lieberman-to-come-clean-on-plans-to-end-us-involvement-in-iraq