Candidates wary on troop increase in Iraq
2006-10-11
Source: The Hill
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rss feedArizona Republican Sen. John McCain's suggestion that the United States add troops in Iraq has apparently given the idea some political traction in recent weeks. McCain's Arizona colleague Sen. Jon Kyl (R) joined the call, and at least two other Republicans in close races suggested they would be open to the idea.
But the position, on its surface, doesn't appear to be a political winner. According to a recent MSNBC/McClatchy poll, a small minority of Americans believes that troop levels in Iraq should be increased - less than 20 percent in most Senate battleground states.
The seeming unpopularity of such a position has made it prime political hay, and Democrats are pouncing. Facing criticism, the campaigns of Kyl and Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) have scaled back their public statements on the issue in recent days.
McCain expressed his belief in the need for more troops in August during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," and Kyl has in recent weeks expressed agreement.
On Thursday, Kyl's Democratic opponent, Jim Pederson, held a conference call with Lawrence Korb, a former assistant defense secretary under President Reagan, in which the two of them decried adding troops to the "civil war" in Iraq. Korb is now with the left-leaning Center for American Progress.
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