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Lieberman Defends Hillary for Demoralizing Comments to Troops

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Joseph Lieberman defended Sen. Hillary Clinton on Sunday, after she made politically toxic comments predicting possible U.S. failure in Iraq during what was supposed to be a morale-boosting visit to the troops on Friday. Asked if Sen. Clinton was wrong to voice such a pessimistic sentiment from the war zone, Sen. Lieberman told "Fox News Sunday," "In the most technical sense that we're in a war now in which, in the last month, we have lost more American soldiers than we have in any other month since the actual war began . . . in a technical sense, victory is not assured."

However, the Connecticut Democrat was quick to add, "But I will say this, there is no substitute for victory here. We must pull together across party lines here in the United States and we have to pull together with the rest of the world in a way President Bush has not been able to accomplish."

During a radio interview in Kuwait on Friday, broadcast just miles from the Iraq war front lines, Sen. Clinton warned, "We have to exert all of our efforts militarily, but the outcome is not assured."

She also admitted to telling U.S. troops directly earlier in the day that support for the war was starting to erode, explaining that Americans were raising "many questions at home about the (Bush) administration's policies."

While Sen. Lieberman was not asked about Mrs. Clinton's decision to criticize the Commander-in-Chief to troops stationed in a war zone, MSNBC commentator Bill Press said Hillary was right to blast Bush to G.I.s in Iraq.

"She said, 'Well, everybody supports the troops, but there's still a lot of questions about the policy.' And there are," Press told WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg on Sunday.

"I mean, you can't hide it," the former "Buchanan & Press" host added. "Bush's trip, great as it was, didn't change anything in the sense that there are still a lot of serious questions about this war."