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Heading Into First Debate, Richardson Draws Contrast on 'Residual Forces'

April 25, 2007 7:01 PM

ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: On the eve of the first Democratic presidential debate, Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., drew an implicit contrast between his position on Iraq and that of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. Without mentioning either of his '08 rivals by name, Richardson issued a statement Wednesday evening emphasizing his opposition to leaving forces behind in Iraq after the bulk of U.S. troops have been withdrawn--a position which puts him at odds with the two Democrats who sit atop the national polls.

"This will be the first chance for Americans to see all of the Democratic candidates together and to see who is the most qualified and best prepared to be president on day one," Richardson said of Thursday's debate. "We won't be debating the poll numbers, we'll be debating and stating our opinion on real issues, and people will see a difference. There are important differences in the qualifications and accomplishments of the candidates. They'll see that I would get our troops out of Iraq, all of our troops, with no residual forces. I've been there, I know the region, and I know our presence is no longer helping . . ."

In an interview last month with The New York Times, Clinton said she "foresees a 'remaining military as well as political mission' in Iraq," and said that if elected president, she would "keep a reduced military force there to fight Al Qaeda, deter Iranian aggression, protect the Kurds and possibly support the Iraqi military."

Clinton said the "scaled-down American military force that she would maintain would stay off the streets in Baghdad and would no longer try to protect Iraqis from sectarian violence -- even if it descended into ethnic cleansing."

Clinton's support for residual forces in Iraq was the subject of a pointed question she received during a recent Q&A session with members of MoveOn.org, a liberal advocacy group.

Clinton is not alone among the leading Democratic presidential candidates in supporting residual forces in Iraq.

Obama's Iraq plan, according to his campaign website, allows for "a limited number of U.S. troops to remain in Iraq as basic force protection, to engage in counter-terrorism and to continue the training of Iraqi security forces."

In addition to drawing a contrast with Clinton and Obama, Richardson's position on residual forces puts him at odds with the Democratic war-funding bill which passed the House Wednesday. That bill only sets the goal of having U.S. combat forces – not all forces -- out of Iraq by March 2008.

Richardson was questioned about his unconventional opposition to leaving residual forces behind in Iraq on April 15 when he appeared on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos".

"What I am proposing is no residual forces because I don’t believe they're needed," said Richardson who believes that the U.S. can use the withdrawal of all U.S. forces by the end of 2007 as "leverage" to get "Moslem nations, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Syria,” and “NATO countries into a security framework to guarantee security and reconstruction" for Iraq.

Richardson also hopes to achieve a "reconciliation" of Iraq's Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds through a "division of power into three entities."

Asked by Stephanopoulos why Clinton’s plan to leave about 75,000 or so troops behind in Iraq to fight Al Qaeda, protect the Kurds, and deter Iran was not the more responsible course, Richardson said, "Because, by leaving American troops in Iraq, they become targets. They become incentives for more violence."

Richardson went on to say that he would send some of the U.S. troops who leave Iraq to Bahrain with even more of them going to Afghanistan where Richardson believes al Qaeda and the Taliban are resurrecting themselves.

When pressed to name a military adviser or retired general who endorses his plan, Richardson did not name anyone in particular.

"Well, George," he said, "I have a number of advisers. And I believe that my plan is going to succeed. If I'm president, I would withdraw the troops by the end of his calendar year. But it would be diplomacy that would be the key. A reconciliation conference, a security conference. Bringing international support for our goals."

April 25, 2007 in Political Radar | Permalink | Share | User Comments (2)

User Comments

Posted by: margrit meyer | Apr 26, 2007 10:00:21 AM

Posted by: Richard | Apr 26, 2007 12:41:54 PM

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