Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Senator Harkin calls for US withdrawal from Iraq

The Des Moines Register on Friday reported that Iowa Senator Harkin has called for the US to immediately begin withdrawing forces from Iraq.

Sen. Tom Harkin said in Iowa Friday that Iraq has deteriorated into "civil war," declaring it no longer manageable by U.S. forces.

Harkin's comments make the Iowa Democrat among the first members of Congress to declare publicly that Iraq had slipped into war between Muslim factions. They come as polls show President Bush's approval at managing the situation at an all-time low.

"I'm firmly convinced now, after all this time, that it really is a civil war," Harkin said.

The senator, an opponent of the war, said the only solution to the surge of sectarian violence is to begin withdrawing U.S. forces.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Didn't we just go through this when Murtha called for immediate withdrawl from Iraq? If I remember correctly, Bill Frist called for a Sense of the Senate vote to see how many REALLY wanted to go on record as pulling out of Iraq immediately, and only 3 Senators voted for withdrawl. Harken and Murtha are just demagoguing the issue to keep their base (like you) happy. I'd like to see what happened if they were called upon to actually back up their bloviations with action. Let's see them walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

Dave Barrett said...

There may only be a smalll percentage of the Senate that believes we should start withdrawing our troops immediately but that is only because the Senate, like the House and the media, are out of step with how the country feels about the war in Iraq. You say that only 3% of the Senate believes we should withdraw immediately. The results of a recently released poll of our troops in Iraq reveal that if the Senate reflected the feelings of our military personnel in Iraq 25 of them would think we should withdraw immediately. 78 would believe that we should withdraw within a year.
Recent polls reveal that despite the denials of the Bush Administration a majority of Americans believe that a civil war is currently underway in Iraq. What purpose do our troops serve in Iraq if they are in the middle of a civil war? How does their presence promote democracy then?

Anonymous said...

I'm not really interested in debating the war and the meaning of all the various polls. It is what it is. The press and some Democrats have been beating the "Civil War in Iraq" drum since before a shot was fired, three year ago. But if what you say is true, that the vast majority of people in our country want us out of Iraq, then it's time for Harkin and his ilk to stop the political posturing and move this forward. If it's true the majority of the country want out ASAP, why haven't they put pressure on their Senators to defund the war, which is how we finally got out of VietNam? This continual shrieking about Civil War in Iraq is getting tedious. Polls aren't votes---the Harkins in Congress need to either step up to the plate or leave it alone.

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, you Dems are just lovey-dovey with Harkin. Yes, he's the one who called Judge Priscilla Owens, "A Whack-O..." and James Dobson and his members of Focus on the Family nothing more than "...our own home-grown Taliban..." Yes, with this kind of vitriol that one can expect from from a Democrat U.S. Senator, and it just stands to reason (for me)that this man should never be taken seriously - I sure don't - but then I removed the tinfoil from the top of my head and now I...think...Republican...X-rays...have...taken...over...my... mind... I... I... I...l ike...Dick... he... Che... Che...Cheney... Oh, wait...back to Harkin; He doesn't take his representation of Iowa seriously and I suspect he waits by the phone to get his marching orders from Hillary (the Dems saviour) or Howard Dean (arrrrrrhhhhhhhggggg). So, Harkin calls for U.S. withdrawl - and I suppose you think with his background of flying fighter jets in Vietnam - oh, wait, he never really did that...like he once claimed... Oh, well - to me he's a paint in the gluteous and the sooner he retires - the better. Oh, yeah - I know, I know... you Dems hate Republicans, Bush and most of America and, um, PBS is gospel (yawn).