Press Release - Lamont: NYT Shows How Stay-the-Course Joe Is Now Totally Isolated On Iraq

Lamont: NYT Shows How Stay-the-Course Joe Is Now Totally Isolated On Iraq

Despite his vague rhetoric and the White House's new announcement, Senator continues to support indefinitely staying the course

(STATEWIDE) - Today the New York Times reported that the Bush administration has begun to draft a timetable of benchmarks for the Iraqi government to take on a larger role in securing the country. This announcement comes just weeks after Senator Joe Lieberman met with the Iraqi leadership and specifically refused to pressure the Iraqis to take more responsibility for their own security. Lieberman at that time denounced Democratic nominee Ned Lamont for calling for more pressure on the Iraqis, saying "With a friend, you don't essentially put a gun to their head." [Hartford Courant, 9/27/06]. Now, as the administration has today moved towards Lamont's position, Lieberman remains entirely isolated as one of the last politicians attacking those who want to change course in Iraq.

Responding to today's New York Times story, Lamont issued the following statement:

"Senator Lieberman now is the last politician standing that is pushing ‘stay the course' in Iraq - even his cronies in the White House now implicitly acknowledge that their Iraq policy has been a disaster. Will Senator Lieberman now attack President Bush and Vice President Cheney as he has attacked every other critic of the war? Will he continue to staunchly oppose any timeline in Iraq and offer no alternative? Or will he continue to insist that our troops stay in Iraq indefinitely as America's security is further and further weakened?"

Lamont noted that it is more than a little suspect for the administration to announce a vague change of course just two and a half weeks before a major election.

"President Bush and Senator Lieberman long ago squandered their credibility when it comes to this war. At each and every turn, they have wrapped their stay-the-course policy in happy sounding rhetoric - only to continue pushing their failed war policy," said Ned Lamont. "For the sake of our troops safety and nation's security, I hope today's news means a real change of course, not more election-eve maneuvering aimed at stemming President Bush's political bleeding. After three years of repeated "stay the course" failures, we must put our troops above politics."

"Two weeks before the election, I have no doubt that Senator Lieberman will keep telling voters he wants to end this war. But Connecticut should not be fooled: he is not for changing the course. He has been the Bush administration's chief apologist for this war, he has offered no specifics about getting us out of Iraq, and he has held official campaign events to pledge his devotion to ‘staying the course.' It's time for a change."

http://nedlamont.com/news/1906/news-release-lamont-nyt-shows-how-stay-the-course-joe-is-now-totally-isolated-on-iraq