Posted on 06/07/2007 1:15:44 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Thursday rejected the Bush administration's vision of a Korea-type, decades-long U.S. troop presence in Iraq and suggested a need for benchmarks to gauge progress.
"Our objective would not be a Korea-type setting with 25-50,000 troops on a near permanent basis remaining in bases in Iraq," the former Massachusetts governor told the Associated Press.
"I think we would hope to turn Iraq security over to their own military and their own security forces, and if presence in the region is important for us than we have other options that are nearby," Romney said.
In a wide-ranging, hourlong interview with AP reporters and editors, Romney said the Bush administration would be wise to publicly disclose some goals for success in Iraq to restore public confidence. Benchmarks that would tip off adversaries, however, should remain private.
"This is a time when it would be helpful for the American people and the people of Iraq to see that we are actually making progress if that's what's happening," Romney said.
Helpful measurements could include power-sharing with the Sunnis, division of oil revenues, the status of certain militias, as well as the numbers and training levels of Iraqi military and security forces, he said.
"If you don't publish any kind of milestone or benchmark," Romney said, you leave people thinking "you're only telling us the things that you wanted to tell us."
Like his rivals in the Republican field, Romney supports the conflict and President Bush's recent troop buildup but has increased his criticism of how the administration waged the war and handled the invasion's aftermath.
Most Americans oppose the conflict and disapprove of Bush's job performance. While a majority of Republicans still back the president and the war, their continued support is not guaranteed and some GOP leaders are growing restless.
The White House last week offered the comparison between Iraq and the Korean War as the Pentagon announced the completion of the troop buildup in Iraq that Bush ordered in January. U.S. forces have helped keep an uneasy peace in South Korea for more than 50 years.
Presidential spokesman Tony Snow says Bush has cited the Korea analogy in looking at the U.S. role in Iraq, and the president has suggested that his successor will inherit the unpopular war now in its fifth year.
Romney said the comparison sends the wrong message.
"We have communicated to the people in the region and the country that we're not looking to have a permanent presence in Iraq and I don't think we want to communicate that we were just kidding about that," he said.
Romney noted that the U.S. has bases in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, and said: "We can have a presence in the region, but I think that at this time we need to exercise care not to communicate to insurgents something that they can use to say 'Ah ha! America does intend to be an occupier forever!'"
Discussing his proposal to increase the military by 100,000, Romney said improving recruitment incentives will achieve that goal and reviving the draft is unnecessary.
Romney also answered questions:
_On health care: "This is a topic where I don't think the Republican Party can sit on the sidelines and just say no." He boasted about passing universal health care in Massachusetts, but treaded carefully when asked about a national mandate requiring all workers to have health insurance. "In our evaluation of what worked in our state, the only way it could work ... was to make sure that everybody participated in the system," he said.
_On Social Security: "I will not pursue the raising-taxes option," but he would not rule out raising the retirement age, cutting benefits or creating personal accounts.
_On gay rights: "If there are people ... who hate gays, than I'm not their guy," said Romney, who acknowledged he previously opposed the military's ban on openly gay service members but now: "It's working. I wouldn't change it."
_On the perception he's a serial flip-flopper: "In the style of Mark Twain, I would suggest rumors of my changes in position have been greatly exaggerated."
_On the Senate immigration proposal: "It's Washington coming together and reaching a great compromise that doesn't work." He said the U.S. must "replace gradually and humanely people who are here working illegally today with our own citizens and with legal immigrants."
_On the decisions by top rivals Rudy Giuliani and John McCain (news, bio, voting record) to skip the Iowa straw poll in August, a traditional test of organizational strength: "You can't help but think that makes me far more likely to win" in January's caucuses.
Anyone who has seen the all of the improvements and constuction work going on at LSA Anaconda (Balad) know we are not going to be leaving soon! Looked like a permanant installation to me.
We will hqave bases in Iraq for the forseeable future, Mitt. That is a good thing.
Exactly, that's how we won. Today, there are different enemies, and different wars (asymmetrical), and different regions of theater. "Fighting [alQaeda, Islamofascists] there so we don't have to fight them here" is exactly about that.
If he intends to ring out our role as the world's lone supercop
We are not there entirely alone, nor are we playing "supercop" there. Same people who want us to leave Iraq (and Iran), where we fight real enemies who are there to defeat us because of who we are, want us to be "supercop" in Darfur and other places where we don't [yet] have an enemy. Same as in Kosovo where we didn't have national interests, nor NATO allies' interests' have been attacked, yet we played "supercop" there.
Destroying one enemy in Iraq (Saddam) and staying there to attract and kill and capture the resources of a bigger and more elusive ones (al-Qaeda, Iran) while simultaneously building and protecting the foundations of allied governments in the region is not playing "supercop", it's essential for our very survival. Our problems with Iraq are not in Iraq, they are in Iran and Washington (and, by extension, their allies in New York and Hollywood).
Typical of that family.
When Mitt’s father George ran for President he said the Generals brainwashed him so he turned against the war in View nam.
Mitt and his 5 sons never served in the military so not a good reference for a country in a major and a war for years to come.
I'm with you Johnnie--through the Primaries. But after that, I say choose the best, even if you aren't too pleased.
ROFL!! Good one, Dio.
Stabilize Iraq is the idea, not to hand hold for forever.
I say it is really courageous to tell the voters like it is!
I have no problem with “Draft Bloomberg” movement at all, whoever successfully does it ought to get a medal.
The “We’ll give you some time to get your Sunnis and Shiite together, but after that, you’re on your own,” is an incredibly silly Joe Biden-suggested game that will only drive Sunnis and Shi’as who now have alliances with us to separate from us and to seek other alliances - the ones we don’t like - to prepare for us leaving them defenseless. This is not poker, your every bluff will be called and you don’t leave yourself any outs here.
It’d be better if he had a clue and realized we are going to be in Iraq for at least the next 15 years.
He’s saying the right things, period. Americans don’t want to be in Iraq for the next 15 years. And if you believe we should, then its going to cost us elections for the next 30 years.
He’s pulling out of his arse. He has zero knowledge of militray affairs or history, apparently.
If your goal is to fight Islamofacists as you call it you have to realize that the very essence of Islam is Dhimittude and Sharia, making all others submit to your will. If you disagree with them you are an infidel and you are fit only to be killed or subjugated into Dhimmitude.
The fact is that we are trying to create a society that has to find people willing to risk their lives for the dignity and pride of others. In this case in Iraq you have to find Sunnis for shiites/kurds or what have you. It’s difficult but I honestly don’t think their culture can support it without us physically being there. Our failure to create a secular republic like the one in Turkey was one of the biggest cracks in foundation.
If you want to stop sharia and dhimmification then call it a crusade, then destroy the Shiite stronghold of Sadr and Tehran. Then you must destroy the Wahhabist entity of Riyahd. To finally prove once and for all the folly of worshipping false gods.
This hearts and minds makes them believe they are dominant, we can’t win wars like this.
We must make them submit. Failure to do so only invites more death.
Romney ping
Romney is using “Bush logic”. Whatever Bush wants to do, do the opposite. After selling us out on immigration, global warming, and campaign finance reform, and after bungling Iraq war, and mid-term elections, this might make sense. Thanks Mitt!
With BDS so high doesn’t suprise me. Keeps his unfavorable rating low.
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