Kerry says US should leave Iraq this year
Ties timetable to a stable regime
WASHINGTON -- Senator John F. Kerry yesterday called for the United States to remove its troops from Iraq by the end of the year and to start a withdrawal by the middle of May if Iraqis fail to quickly establish a stable government that's acceptable to its major ethnic groups.
''Time to get tough," Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in an interview. ''If you can't get them to do it in the next six weeks, it's because they don't want to do it. And if they don't want to do it, we shouldn't stay in the middle of a civil war."
If a unity government can't be established by May 15, Kerry argues, the vast majority of American forces should leave; even if Iraq meets that deadline, he maintains, US troops should come home by the end of this year. Such a promise would give the new Iraqi leadership greater credibility as it seeks to take control of the country, Kerry said.
He is also calling for an international summit involving the United Nations and the Arab League to facilitate peacekeeping and reconstruction. ''There's been a pathetic absence of major diplomacy by our administration," Kerry said.
Kerry's plan -- first laid out in an article he wrote that was published in yesterday's New York Times opinion page -- builds on a speech he delivered in October in which he endorsed a series of steps the United States should take in Iraq, ending in the withdrawal of American troops by the end of 2006.
President Bush has flatly rejected suggestions that tie any troop withdrawals to specific timelines. White House spokesman Scott McClellan yesterday brushed aside proposals to bring American forces home quickly.
''The worst thing we could do is withdraw before the mission is complete," McClellan said. ''That would be retreating, and that's exactly what the terrorists want us to do."
But some Democrats received Kerry's proposal more warmly. Former senator Gary Hart of Colorado posted an entry at huffingtonpost.com praising Kerry for his ''courage" and calling on other Democrats to weigh in on the matter. Senator Russell Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat who is considering a 2008 presidential run, also endorsed Kerry's proposal.
Kerry has sought to clearly enunciate his views as he considers another run for president. 