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Dean says Democrats will lead U.S. out of Iraq |
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By Klaus Marre
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Posted: 06/09/07 03:59 PM [ET] |
Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Saturday that the surest way to get out of Iraq is to elect one of his party’s presidential candidates in 2008.
“The Democratic candidates have made it clear they will not ignore the will of the American people and our military experts,” Dean said in the Democrats’ weekly radio address.
He praised his party for standing up to President Bush in Congress and criticized the commander-in-chief for vetoing an Iraq spending bill that included “benchmarks with consequences” and timelines for a U.S. troop withdrawal.
“The American people hired Democrats last November to ensure that we end this war, so let me be clear,” Dean said. “We know that if we don’t keep our promise, we may find ourself in the minority again.”
However, Dean also noted that “Republicans in Congress are standing with President Bush as he stubbornly wields his veto pen in the face of overwhelming opposition to this war from the American people.”
While Democrats in Congress would do all they can to bring the troops home, Dean indicated that it might take a Democrat in the White House to do so.
“But there’s only one way to truly ensure that we end this war: elect a Democratic president in 2008,” Dean stated.
The party chairman argued that the presidential debates this week allowed voters to see the difference between the Democratic candidates and their GOP counterparts.
“Right down the line, we saw Republican contender after Republican contender embrace President Bush’s escalation of the war,” Dean said, adding, “The Democratic candidates for president all stood united and firmly committed to responsibly ending the war in Iraq. This week, they each spoke passionately against any misguided stay-the-course plan that keeps our men and women in uniform policing a civil war.” |
