Clinton: Politics Driving Iraq Timetable
Tuesday, December 2, 2003; Page A18
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), back from a Thanksgiving trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, said she feared the administration's exit strategy for Iraq was being driven more by President Bush's political needs than by policy concerns for Iraq.
"Clearly, the quick move for some kind of sovereignty, in whatever form, by July . . . suggests to me there is a political imperative at work to try to declare victory -- or at least point to some kind of interim victory -- before the November elections," Clinton told reporters.
Clinton and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who also made the trip, said the process of stabilizing Iraq and achieving an orderly turnover of sovereignty might take longer than the administration now projects. Reed said he found Iraq "less chaotic but more dangerous" than when he visited in July and expressed concern that it might be difficult to replace critical U.S. personnel, such as military police and civil affairs officers, when they are brought home early next year.
Both senators called for more international involvement, but Clinton said Bush's refusal to cede any authority over Iraqi operations to the United Nations was impeding the effort. "I think that's a losing proposition," she said.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26638-2003Dec1.html