Get troops out, Vilsack says on CNN

Get troops out, Vilsack says on CNN Quick pullout would not spark violence, he says
By JANE NORMANREGISTER WASHINGTON BUREAU
February 5, 2007 Add comment

Washington, D.C. - Presidential candidate and former Gov. Tom Vilsack, on national television Sunday, repeated his call for Congress to demand the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq, saying it can be done safely and without the predicted bloodbath between warring sects.
The Iowa Democrat, appearing on CNN's "Late Edition," also rebuffed polls in Iowa and nationally that show he lags in the race and that many Iowans think he should not be running for the Democratic presidential nomination. "I intend to win Iowa" in the state's first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses next January, he said.
When asked by host Wolf Blitzer if troops should be taken out of Iraq within six months or a year - the usual timetable cited during congressional debates over withdrawal - Vilsack said the withdrawal should happen "as quickly as possible." He said "it's necessary for Congress to send a message to this administration that they are not going to fund this war effort."
Vilsack was asked to respond to comments earlier this week by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., that "it is not in our national interest to see a Sunni-Shiite bloodbath spill over into the Middle East" if the United States quickly ratchets down its forces in Iraq.
During the coming days, members of the Senate are expected to begin debating and voting on various resolutions dealing with the war.
Vilsack said "it's going to be up to the Iraqis themselves" to decide when to end the conflict, and it's up to "outsiders" to urge Congress to use its power of the purse strings to end the war.
"If the president doesn't listen and doesn't act, it's on his watch and it's his responsibility," Vilsack said.
He rejected arguments by members of Congress such as Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that the safety of troops on the ground could be endangered by a quick pullout. "It will be done correctly," Vilsack said, "but we clearly need to send a message. We are going to absolutely see more of our soldiers die, more of our soldiers injured, if we continue on this course."
Vilsack also was asked about a recent CNN poll that shows him with the support of just 1 percent of Democrats nationally, compared to 36 percent for Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York. "Bill Clinton, at this point in time in his race in 1991, was in 11th place," Vilsack said.
As for an Iowa Poll that shows 47 percent of Iowans think it's a bad idea for Vilsack to run, "the reality is it's always more difficult to convince folks at home the fact that you're running for president," Vilsack said. "We are sort of a humble lot in Iowa but I've actually improved those numbers considerably, and I'm going to continue during the course of the campaign."
Reporter Jane Norman can be reached at (202) 906-8137 or at jnorman@dmreg.com
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