Reply #64: Your Question - Dean [View All]

[drfemoe]

#52: "This certainly makes his opinions of the Bush* administration's fumbling clear, and it perhaps offers parts of a plan, e.g. # 2, but I'd really prefer that the Governor state his exit plan clearly, all in one place. Again, will we be marching in the street to protest Dean's continued occupation of Iraq? Why not?"

I would say if there is a 'continued occupation' in the form we see now, yes there will be protests. But if a plan is enacted to resolve the situation, perhaps we should march in support.

Here's a little more information .. can't say if it's what you're looking for or not.


Let's check the transcript ( http://www.demog.berkeley.edu/~gabriel/dean2004blog/Dean_MTP_June_22_2003.htm ). Dean actually says

We need more troops in Afghanistan. We need more troops in Iraq now. I supported the president's invasion of Afghanistan for the obvious reasons, what had gone on and the murder of people. But I do not support what the president's doing there now. We need more people there. We cannot be making alliances with warlords in the hope that we're one day going to have the democracy in Afghanistan. And what I would do in Iraq now is bring in NATO and bring in the United Nations, because our troops on the ground deserve better support than they're getting. (Emphasis Added)

Dean is not calling for more American troops. He's calling for multilateralism. The Oskaloosa Herald ( http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9903447&BRD=1623&PAG=461&dept_id=180614&rfi=6 ) aptly summarizes his position:

But now in Iraq, the U.S. is stuck there and must prevent a fundamentalist regime from taking power and harboring al-Qaeda or other such organizations, Dean said. But the U.S. needs to encourage more international peacekeeping in Iraq so some U.S. reserves can return home.

http://deandefense.org/archives/000502.html