Friday, September 08, 2006

SHEELER BLASTS WHITEHOUSE ON IRAQ STANCE

Providence, RI - Marine Veteran and staunch anti-Iraq war and anti-Bush progressive Carl Sheeler charges U.S. Senate Democratic Party opponent Sheldon Whitehouse as being "disingenuous" in his Iraq positions specifically and foreign and energy policies generally.

"Sheldon has been testing the political waters on Iraq since last year. This is exactly why a pedigreed patrician, regardless of money, is not necessarily qualified. I'm troubled by his acceptance of contributions from defense and energy industry executives. Sheldon has made clear, he would not impeach Bush. How do I trust statements to hold Bush accountable and calling on the firing of Rumsfeld, when it's the President who placed us in this disgraceful war and approves of Rumsfeld’s actions? Why should I trust Sheldon on veteran or military issues or the veracity of his domestic agenda?

“Sheldon has no cogent Middle East policy. He's called on President Bush to have an exit strategy and timeline when Bush has plainly stated he was leaving this to the next president to decide. Sheldon has vacillated from "stay the course" last year to an indeterminate "rapid and responsible" withdrawal to now extending our occupation due to the civil war. Sheldon has claimed he would have used diplomacy in Iraq and military force in Iran. He supported Bush's backing of Israel's invasion of Lebanon and Palestine. The only vision that works is a Euro-Arab coalition which would replace our forces and create stability in the region, which I have been calling for since July 2005. This would have saved over a thousand lives, billions of our tax dollars and lowered oil prices.

“There would have been a six month redeployment timeline to coincide with the voting on the Iraq Constitution. Failure to redeploy could leave our forces exposed to a very lengthy and bloody civil war, especially when three or more armed factions are engaged. Our military strength has limits in the absence of a draft. Even the Bush administration acknowledging the severity of our rundown combat troops, following third and fourth deployments, when it announced on Tuesday the hiring of an outside contractor which will be paid $5,700 per individual recruited.

We have 40,000 permanent troops stationed in Kuwait and the Kitty Hawk Battle Carrier Group in the Persian Gulf. Our troops have done their job and it's time for them to come home. We need to restore global alliances to pursue terrorists and defend our nation against the threats Iran, North Korea and others pose"

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