FEINGOLD: On Kerry's Call For End to Military Mission In Iraq

[kpete]

Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
On Senator John Kerry's Call for an
End to Our Military Mission in Iraq

April 5, 2006


“Since August 18, 2005 I have been calling on the Administration to aim to redeploy U.S. military personnel from Iraq by the end of this year so that we can focus on the threat posed by global terrorist networks. I applaud Senator Kerry’s call today for our combat forces to be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of this year. Senator Kerry has been a strong leader in calling for a clear, coherent strategy to complete our military mission in Iraq while engaging Iraq’s leaders with genuine diplomacy. Having just visited Iraq last month, I witnessed the desperate need for Iraqi politicians to form a unity government to prevent the country from falling deeper into violence. Senator Kerry is absolutely right to say that the end of this year is a reasonable target date for redeploying our troops in Iraq.”

http://www.senatedemocrats.net/node/758

[sabra]

1. Dems united!

[LaurenG]

2. Two Smart Men

can we make that three...etc. ect. etc.

[saltpoint]

3. Yes yes. I like it when Democrats behave like this.

Russ & John can be Senators in my government any time they want.

[leftchick]

4. That was fast!

How many more before the end of the day? Dare I hope? I heard the most depressing assessment of the Democratic position on the war on NPR today so I find this extremely heartening.

[rodeodance]

5. Two handsome academic minded Democratics--whow. GO GO GO

[confludemocrat]

24. One's close to handsome anyway. And definitely this IS academic

and not in a good way.

[wordpix]

36. which one? My choice: Feingold

[confludemocrat]

51. I agree. Gore Vidal said Kerry looks like Lincoln--after the assassination

I didn't bring up anyone's looks first, mind you.

[smoogatz]

41. Seems like a reasonable plan to me.

How is it "academic in not a good way"?

[confludemocrat]

50. Events have overtaken Kerry's posturing; he hasn't woken up to it

What "mission"? what "military mission"? They can come up with all the plans they want, but the mission is a pack of lies, has failed anyway and he admits there is a civil war now. But we will leave in a year in any case. That is so full inherent, "let's see if we can get away with this one" nonsense, I feel sorry for them.

[ourbluenation]

6. United we stand...............Yes! Keep the mojo going!

[globalvillage]

7. Yay Russ!!!

Nice to see our good Dems supporting each other.

[blm]

14. They tend to be there more often than not - JK sent his counsel to censure

hearings for legal backup, even though he is not a judiciary committee Democrat. Most of the blogoshpere missed that tidbit.

[LionInWinter]

15. I did not know that!

That's very good news, thanks!

[globalvillage]

16. I didn't know that either.

Awesome. Thanks, blm.

[MH1]

22. Wow, I didn't know either!

Thanks, blm, you always have the inside info.

[blm]

30. Not really inside info, at all. Just heard that one of the livebloggers

got into the hearing with JK's counsel, and who happened to stay for the entire hearing.

[MH1]

55. Heh, that's still more "inside" than me. ;-) n/t

[wicket]

8. Woo hoo!

I love me some Russ :D

[wisteria]

Very nice endorsement. Senator Feingold deserve credit for backing

a fellow Dem.

[rodeodance]

9. NOMINATE for the troops

[mattclearing]

10. K&R. n/t

[WildEyedLiberal]

11. Awesome, thanks to Feingold for supporting this great plan

Maybe this will shut up some of the morans at DKos.

[onehandle]

12. November 2006. These men are thinking about the Fall.

Good guys.

And as a bonus, this stance will help them in 2008.

Good politics.

[confludemocrat]

23. no stance at all. Murtha lite but fuzzed up. go w/Murtha Classic

not the gutless ambiguous pap these guys are selling.

[blm]

32. Murtha and Kerry are together on this - Guess you missed that tidbit

dropped in a recent radio appearance.

[confludemocrat]

53. Yeah I missed that. Guess no big headlines as there should have been

so that will of course be well documented on blogs and the print media

[confludemocrat]

58. OK, I've looked for evidence of your assertion. None. yer battin 1.000

as expected for pure unadulterated BS.

[blm]

63. MidMarch Imus show, sherlock. Kerry and Murtha stood

together talking at the back of the Dem Real Security presser, too.

[confludemocrat]

65. so in other words ya got nuthin' why am i not surprised?

[ginnyinWI]

26. and it's the right thing to do.

Dem Unity! Dem Unity! Dem Unity! Dem Unity! :) Recommended

[beachmom]

13. Dems beginning to unite, Repubs starting to fall apart

I really think things are turning around for us for the '06 election. This is the right stand for Kerry to make, and I'm so glad to hear Feingold, who I admire very much, making a statement of solidarity. Go Dems!!!

[wordpix]

38. wah-hoooo!

[The Witch]

17. I feel a tad feverish all of a sudden.

:loveya: :loveya: :loveya::loveya: :loveya: :loveya::loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

Is it hot in here or is it just me?

:loveya: :loveya: :loveya::loveya: :loveya: :loveya::loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

[TayTay]

57. Okay, me too

I get a little bit of the vapors when those big cerebellums start working. Oh, hold me. Nothing better than brainy men with big, ahm, morals.

:loveya:

[warrens]

18. End of year sounds good to me too

The U.N. should send in some peacekeepers to help rebuild; we're just making it worse.

[ProSense]

19. Beautiful! n/t

[oasis]

20. Democrats have ideas. Let the MSM start singing a different tune. nt

[confludemocrat]

21. "Complete the mission?" What mission? In any case be done in a year-BS

What utter BS and brain dead as usual. If there was a mission it failed long ago. If there IS a mission why set a deadline if it's not complete? This spells trouble for Dems.

[blm]

27. You show up again to attack Kerry - no surprise, we've expected it.

EVERY time Kerry speaks up with a solid plan, you show up and attack him - just like the way faux left websites did during the primaries when they were actually set up by swiftlie cronies.

[confludemocrat]

28. I haven't attacked him in awhile, but he deserves it for his LAME gambits

and threadbare posturing.

[blm]

29. HAHAHA...yeah....sell it to who you can.

Your goal has always been transparent to me.

[confludemocrat]

48. Yes transparent: Kerry defficient and no one who doesn't like transparent

BS, cheap posturing and opportunism will put up with him for long.

[blm]

49. Kerry doesn't posture - he believes in OPEN BOOK GOVERNMENT and always

stuck his neck out for issues that most lawmakers would never take on.

YOU and those who constantly hound Kerry since the Nixon White House FEAR that Kerry will one day open the books on ALL the government corruption he has targeted so many times in the past - often ALONE. I am certain you didn't support him on any of his efforts.

[confludemocrat]

52. Again, it's me and the white house if I critique the man for his nonsense

If he is against the war in any way, then what mission are we talking about? If Feingold insists there is a mission as his statement today continues to do as before and Kerry NOW disagrees, where is JK to correct him or clarify that he now isn't for this "mission"? If he no longer believes there is a mission, then why are we there? If there is a civil war, then in what way is US presence beneficial? And if there is a civil war AND he thinks we can help in some way, then why the arbitrary deadline? He has to come clean, admit there is no valid mission, and then maybe other countries might consider helping--even sticking to his line of reasoning that we bring in other countries to stabilize the place, which he seems to assume we can do now with the false premises he supported.

[druidity33]

60. maybe the mission...

is to stabilize the land of Iraq. This is nitpicky on your part and it does feel like you're just clawing at Kerry because you don't like him. His use of the word mission here is somewhat necessary so that the general public understands what he's referring to. There aren't too many words here to define what Kerry's "mission" would be, were he in charge. Maybe it would be to actually help with reconstruction efforts by giving Iraqi's the jobs, or building and supplying the medical facilities the Iraqi's paid for but never got. You're playing at semantics and pre-supposing conjecture. All to defame a candidate on our side of the line. I implore you... stop the nonsense, you're wasting our time.

[confludemocrat]

61. You start w/"maybe the mission..."Even Redhot JK supporter doesn't know

what the misson is. Lotta maybes in your reply. you support my case that no one knows WTF JK is saying since its so garbled fuzzed up and late in coming. He's dead meat. Leave John, you blew it. Feingold was just trying to placate the rabid Kerryites, who typically need some soothing talk so they don't turn on him, since he wants their votes and JK won't be around as late in the 2008 primaries as he will.

[blm]

64. You're saying Feingold is being DECEPTIVE with this "soothing talk" and

I believe he's sincere.

I think you aren't serving ANYONE well with that kind of talk.

[confludemocrat]

66. No. I'm saying Feingold has to deal with rabid Kerryites who will like JK

say anything (like you) to try to come off as other than pure bullshitters.

[Catamount]

25. Yeah! Those 2 should be running our country!

K&R

[Beelzebud]

31. Wow, look at Feingold BACK his fellow democrat!

If only some of them, including John Kerry, had done that for him...

[blm]

33. Kerry had his counsel at Russ' hearings for legal backup, though he's

not even a judiciary committee Democrat.

You can't always expect Finance Committee Dems to step up and do the job of judiciary Dems all the time - like Kerry was FORCED to do with Alito.

[ProSense]

34. Don't even bother!

A censure bill in committee is far more important to some than withdrawal from Iraq.

[blm]

43. You know me - any opportunity to keep the facts straight. ;)

No matter how how many have decided to ignore facts, I find them useful and never boring. Heh.

[WildEyedLiberal]

35. Well, on that note...

Feingold didn't support Kerry's letter demanding an investigation into DSM. While we're keeping score, you know.

Feingold WANTS censure to be nonpartisan. He doesn't WANT a thousand Dem co-sponsors, because he wants to appeal to Republicans like Hagel and actually get this passed.

Obviously Feingold doesn't have a problem with this, so I don't know what use it is to get "outraged" on his behalf.

[politicasista]

37. Kick and Recommend

Need all the dems we can get to come abord on this. :kick:

[flpoljunkie]

42. Has no Dem but Feingold come out in support of Kerry?

If so, that is very sad, indeed!

[blm]

56. Gary Hart sides with Kerry on his Huff Post blog.

.

[WildEyedLiberal]

62. Max Cleland, too, has an editorial

Feingold is the only office-holding Dem who's backed Kerry up, though, as far as I know.

[bigtree]

39. there's a good team

[Az_lefty]

40. I'm in the Army Guard...

and I can tell you from my state there are plans to deploy hundreds of soldiers to Iraq over the next couple of years. The rotations are not slowing down at all. I wish Kerry and all good luck, they need to push through a time table or this occupation will never end. Bush is already talking about passing the buck to a "future" president. The spoiled little punk creates a mess and just walks away from it like he always has.

:puke:

[radio4progressives]

44. Excellent Russ.

:thumbsup::applause:

[dogday]

45. I just love it when Russ Feingold Speaks

His words are always elegant and intelligent.. He speaks clearly and in a good tone of voice.. And he looks good.... Let's face it... He is just wonderful!!!!!

[KAT119]

54. I agree-bravo Russ!

[alfredo]

46. Redeploy to where?

[bunkerbuster1]

47. More like Russ, please.

It's great to see this.

Now Barak, Hairplug Joe, DiFi, Her Royal Clintonness--you on board? Speak up! We need you, pronto!

[jillan]

59. K & R for two of the Senators that speak for me.

Kerry and Russ - they have been the most outspoken Dems this past year....
and I must add Leahy.

Yes - working together!

[dogday]

67. It's good to see Kerry doing this, we still look to him

And I am glad to see Russ supporting this, I would expect no less from him... They are both good politicians......