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Hillary on Surge? 'It's Working'...
JOHN HANNA
AP
Tuesday Aug 21, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - New military
tactics in Iraq are working but the best way to honor U.S. soldiers
is "by beginning to bring them home," Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton told war veterans Monday.
Clinton, seeking the Democratic nomination for president, praised
the work that soldiers have done in Iraq but described the government
there as "on vacation," leaving American troops in the
middle of a sectarian war.
Later the Veterans of Foreign Wars were told by Sen. John McCain,
who is seeking the GOP nomination, that withdrawing from Iraq
would be a historic mistake — far worse than previous U.S.
missteps in the country.
McCain said he understands that Americans are "sick and
tired" of the war, which he said hasn't gone well. Still,
he said Gen. David Petraeus and other military leaders deserve
patience.
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Petraeus, the U.S. commander who will report to Congress on progress
in Iraq next month, told the group that in some areas, partnerships
between coalition forces and Iraqi soldiers are "quite robust."
He also said that Iraqi losses have been three times those suffered
by the U.S.-led coalition.
Clinton and McCain spoke to hundreds of members of the VFW, which
is holding its annual convention in Kansas City. On Tuesday, Democratic
candidate Barack Obama and former GOP Sen. Fred Thompson are to
speak. President Bush arrives Wednesday.
The hall where the candidates spoke can seat 6,000 people, and
both Clinton and McCain drew about half that for their late-morning
speeches. The crowd was mostly friendly to Clinton and offered
polite applause throughout her speech. McCain, a former Vietnam
War prisoner of war, received a warmer reception — and louder
applause during his remarks.
Clinton said she wanted to restore America's image abroad.
"People have to root for America," she said. "They
have to want to be on our side."
In Iraq, she said, the government must take responsibility for
itself and its people.
"I do not think the Iraqis are ready to do what they have
to do for themselves yet," she said. "I think it is
unacceptable for our troops to be caught in the crossfire of a
sectarian civil war while the Iraqi government is on vacation."
Clinton said new tactics have brought some success against insurgents,
particularly in Iraq's Anbar province.
"It's working. We're just years too late in changing our
tactics," she said. "We can't ever let that happen again.
We can't be fighting the last war. We have to keep preparing to
fight the new war."
McCain said that pulling out of Iraq would empower al-Qaida and
Iran and unleash a "full-scale civil war" in Iraq.
He drew applause when he said, "As long as we have a chance
to succeed, we must try to succeed."
Later, he said, "We're starting to succeed, and I think
we're seeing some shift in public opinion."
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INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
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