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US Sen.: Three state, one country federated solution
in Iraq
30.4.2007 |
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April 30, 2007
Senators Square Off on Iraq Funding
With Congress expecting President Bush's veto of the
Iraq funding bill, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., and
Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., presented two different
scenarios today for where to go from here.
In an interview with George Stephanopoulos on "This
Week," Brownback advocated a political "three state,
one country federated solution in Iraq." The
Republican presidential hopeful's suggestion makes
him the unlikely ally of Democratic presidential
candidate Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del. Biden initially
suggested the loose federation of autonomous
Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni regions in May 2006. |
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"I've reached out to Sen. Biden," Brownback said. "I
think this is the only long-term, durable political
solution for us to move forward."
Brownback warned that legislating a deadline for
troop withdrawal is tantamount to legislating
defeat. "A deadline -- I think the day we pass it --
al Qaeda declares victory over us and much of the
world will agree," Brownback said.
Brownback emphasized that the U.S. timeline in Iraq
is finite, but focused on the need for aggressive
political pressure on Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki to
resolve sectarian violence.
Feingold responded that he was dismayed by what he
called the Bush administration's "disregard and
disrespect for the will of the American people."
"American troops are dying for no good reason at
this point. They are in a situation where they are
being sacrificed because people want political
comfort in Washington," Feingold said.
When asked if he would try to defeat any funding
bill that did not include a timeline for the
withdrawal of American forces, Feingold said,
"Unless there is some other binding proposal, not
just benchmarks, or something else that begins to
end this war and shows a real plan for ending the
war, absolutely."
Feingold stopped short of agreeing with the recent
comment from Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., that the war
in Iraq was "lost," but suggested that the country's
current prospects looked dim. Feingold said, "This
war was won militarily years ago, but if we're
talking about this occupation succeeding, if this
situation is getting better, if our troops are there
for a good reason, at this point, the answer is no."
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