Reply #22: Says Senators Must Break "Taboo" On Discussing Timing Of End Of Mission

[rodeodance]

this is from his website:


http://feingold.senate.gov/~feingold/releases/05/08/2005818336.html

Feingold Proposes Target Time For Completion Of Military Mission In Iraq; Says Senators Must Break "Taboo" On Discussing
Timing Of End Of Mission

Proposes Gradual Troop Drawdown with Target Completion Date of
December 31, 2006


August 18, 2005

Marquette, WI -- U.S. Senator Russ Feingold today, at a local Listening Session in Marquette, Wisconsin, proposed a target timeframe for the completion of the military mission in Iraq and suggested December 31, 2006 as the target date for the completion of the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

In June, Feingold introduced a resolution calling for the President to clarify the military mission in Iraq, lay out a plan and timeframe for accomplishing that mission, and publicly articulate a plan for subsequent troop withdrawal. Because of the Administration's recent flurry of conflicting signals about the duration of U.S. troop deployments, Feingold said he feels obligated to help jump start that process by proposing a specific goal for bringing U.S. forces home from Iraq.

The former chief of Australia's armed forces, General Peter Cosgrove, recently argued that the foreign troop presence was fueling terrorist activity in Iraq, and called for foreign troops to be out of Iraq by the end of 2006. "Those remarks were constructive, and we need to be having this discussion here at home. I am putting a vision of when this ends on the table in the hope that we can get the focus back on our top priority and that is keeping America and the American people safe," Feingold said.

Feingold has argued that this kind of clarity, combined with an effective reconstruction effort and constructive assistance to the political process, could help the U.S. to:......