Biden to Iraq Tonight

Subscribe to this blog's feed

« Previous | Main | Next »

September 04, 2007 2:18 PM

ABC's Brian Wheeler reports: The president isn’t the only one squeezing in a last look at Iraq before next week's Congressional hearings. Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and presidential hopeful Joe Biden, D-DE, let drop this morning on CBS’s The Early Show that he’ll be off to Iraq tonight, before the much-anticipated report on progress in the country from General David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker.

Biden has savagely criticized “the surge” policy for months and continued to so today and while campaigning over the Labor Day weekend. “If [President Bush] is talking about bringing our troops down to the pre-surge level, to 130,000, that’s not withdrawal. Withdrawal would be getting us out of the middle of that civil war,” Biden said this morning.

President Bush alluded to a possible troop draw down on Monday saying, “General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker tell me if the kind of success we are now seeing continues, it will be possible to maintain the same level of security with fewer American forces.”

In response to the President’s trip this week to Iraq, Senator Biden’s campaign office issued a press release Monday: “We’ll be hearing a lot about the 'surge' over the next several weeks, but we all must remember its original purpose: to buy time for the central government in Iraq to get its act together and win the trust of all Iraqis. That will not happen.”

This will be Biden’s eighth trip to Iraq since the war began. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee plans to hold a public hearing with General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker on Tuesday September 11.

September 4, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (8)

User Comments

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

What is Biden's real mission, to deliver a demand for "Regime Change" in Baghdad from Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin, who called for replacing al-Maliki?

Posted by: carl | Sep 4, 2007 5:50:48 PM

It makes good sense -- he is probably the one candidate who truly understands what is going on over there! And someone needs to follow Bush -- especially after Mitch McConnell's remarks today about trying to corner the Dems on a pack to insure mid-East deployment of Armed Forces indefinietely --- if congress bites they should all loose their jobs and we start with a clean slate.
No MORE GIVING IN TO BUSH & GOP

Posted by: Paulet | Sep 4, 2007 6:02:21 PM

Paul Krugman of the NY Times has it right. We are again getting a snow job about Iraq and how well things are going. I believe Biden will at least be a little more objective.

Posted by: EP | Sep 4, 2007 11:09:50 PM

He shouldn't even bother wasting the money!Our constitutional fore fathers are rolling over in their grave!

Posted by: Adams684 | Sep 5, 2007 1:12:45 AM

DENNIS KUCINICH/JOSEPH BIDEN in 2008!!!!!

Posted by: ENDcorruption | Sep 5, 2007 9:33:16 AM

Biden is smart to remind people that the military success will only hold if political progress is made. If the political process stalls, then military success is illusory. Unlike most war critics, Biden has a military plan to address his doubters. He could be instrumental if he doesn't try to promote himself and his presidential bid at the cost of American foreign policy decisions.

Posted by: Sean O'Brien | Sep 5, 2007 10:21:13 AM

A photo-op for Biden, nothing more. No one has taken him seriously since the 80s, when he was busted for plagiarism.

Posted by: dks0442 | Sep 5, 2007 9:07:49 PM

While Senator Biden goes to Iraq to find out for himself what is going on there - what is Hillary and Obama doing?
Going to Florida to campaign - days after they wouldn't.

Who is the leader in the group of Dems running for POTUS?

If you want change during this election - How about Leadership?
That would be a change.

Posted by: Jillian | Sep 6, 2007 3:34:57 PM

Post a comment