Candidates Stay on Message
At Iraq-War Hearings
McCain's Praise
Of Current Strategy
WASHINGTON -- The three presidential candidates kept on message Tuesday as their campaigns swerved to Capitol Hill for hearings on the Iraq war, a major topic among voters in the 2008 elections.
Republican Sen. John McCain continued his support of the war and warned of "failure" with an early exit. Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama reiterated their pushes for a troop withdrawal and highlighted the high costs of the war.
Of the three, Sen. Obama had the toughest words for Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. The Illinois senator asked the pair "to harden the metrics" by which success is defined. "I'm trying to get to an endpoint," Sen. Obama said.
Sen. Clinton was more cautious. The closest she came to asking for a withdrawal date was an inquiry about what conditions Gen. Petraeus would want to see before recommending a change in strategy.
Both Democrats jumped on Sen. McCain's remarks praising the current strategy and condemning an early exit. The Arizona senator used some of his harshest criticism to date about proponents of early withdrawal, saying withdrawal now would "constitute a failure of political and moral leadership."
"I fundamentally disagree," Sen. Clinton said several hours later, calling it "irresponsible to continue the policy that has not produced results."
Among the common themes were questions about al Qaeda in Iraq. The issue of the terrorist group's role arose on the campaign trial in February. Tuesday, Sen. McCain sought to bolster his view of the threat posed by the group, and he asked Gen. Petreaus about it. Gen. Petraeus said the group is "still a major threat" but one less significant than it was a year ago.
Sen. Obama, speaking later in a different hearing, revisited the topic with a question about the U.S. definition of success in Iraq. He asked what the likelihood would be that al Qaeda in Iraq could "reconstitute itself" at a future date, perhaps after the U.S. had withdrawn. Gen. Petraeus responded that it was possible.
Sen Obama said, "It's fair to say that we're not going to completely eliminate al traces of al Qaeda in Iraq. That can't be our definition of success."
Sens. McCain and Clinton questioned the top U.S. leaders in Iraq during a morning hearing by the Senate Armed Services Committee; Sen. Obama did so early in the evening at a hearing by the Foreign Relations panel.
Sen. McCain asked a few hard-edged questions straight out of the gate, including some on the recent attacks in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone. "What are we going to do about that?" he said gruffly. The Navy veteran, who has staked his candidacy on success in Iraq, was careful not to come off as a cheerleader for the war, but some of his supporters did. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut and longtime friend of Sen. McCain, called for an "agreement on the facts" of the success.
Among their many soundbites, Sens. Clinton and Obama hammered home the costs of the war. Sen. Clinton discussed what she called the "opportunities lost" because of U.S. engagement in Iraq, such as devoting troops to the conflict in Afghanistan. She also expressed concern about the mental health of soldiers who return home.
Sen. Obama hammered on the costs, albeit only the monetary ones, and said the war is "hemorrhaging" the budget. "When you have finite resources, you've got to define your goals tightly and modestly," he said.
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