Sen. Reed Calls For U.S. Troops To Begin Withdrawal From Iraq Within 120 Days
2007-07-09
Source: Associated Press
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island on Saturday called for U.S. troops to begin withdrawing from Iraq within 120 days, saying local politicians have failed to take political action needed to consolidate gains from ongoing military operations to stabilize the country.
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rss feedU.S. troops deployed on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital are meeting their tactical objective of stopping the transit of insurgents into and out of Baghdad, but there is little evidence that politicians are translating the military success into political progress, the Democratic senator said.
Reed, a senior Armed Services panel member who has been a leading critic of Bush's handling of the war, was speaking to reporters after visiting American and Iraq troops on the ground and meeting with the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and military officers from the two countries.
Reed is on his 10th visit to Iraq since 2003 to assess how President Bush's troop buildup is working.
The offensive around Baghdad is restricted by time and the availability of fresh troops, Reed indicated, adding the reality “suggests that we could begin, and we should begin now to transition the missions, begin a phased reduction of our forces,” and focus on training Iraqi forces, counterterrorism operations and protect U.S. forces that may remain in the country for those missions.
