Webb says war in Iraq, war on terror are separate fights
2006-09-12
Source: PilotOnline.com
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rss feedAmid Republican charges that criticism of the war in Iraq encourages American enemies in that conflict, Democratic senatorial nominee Jim Webb asserted Monday that voters should distinguish between Iraq and the broad war on terrorism that began after Sept. 11, 2001.
"When I hear people allege that you cannot be against the war in Iraq and be for the war against international terrorism, I respectfully disagree," Webb told reporters.
Webb used Monday's fifth anniversary of the attacks on New York and the Pentagon to renew charges that the Bush administration has "squandered" international goodwill toward the United States by invading and occupying Iraq. His opponent, incumbent Sen. George Allen, has been a strong supporter of the Iraq war and has argued that critics of the conflict risk discouraging American troops.
Webb recalled having breakfast at the Pentagon with Gen. James Jones, then commandant of the Marine Corps, on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The two were interrupted by word of planes striking the World Trade Center in New York, he said, and Webb was driving back to his office in Arlington when a hijacked airliner slammed into the Pentagon.
Webb said President Bush was correct in sending American troops into Afghanistan to pursue Osama bin Laden after those attacks. The United Nations charter gives members the right to defend themselves against threats from any country that "cannot or will not control international terrorism inside its borders," Webb asserted.
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