Candidate Review - The Iraq War - Hillary Clinton

Now that I think about it, I wrote that last one before looking at Hillary Clinton's page on the Iraq War. So perhaps a Mae Culpa is coming.

I'm mostly OK. Clinton does call on Bush to bring the troops home, but does not speak to what she as a Senator can do to pull the troops out. And her plans are for what she will do, once she is elected President.

The most important part of Hillary's plan is the first: to end our military engagement in Iraq's civil war and immediately start bringing our troops home. As president, one of Hillary's first official actions would be to convene the Joint Chiefs of Staff, her Secretary of Defense, and her National Security Council. She would direct them to draw up a clear, viable plan to bring our troops home starting with the first 60 days of her Administration.

Like other candidates she believes that a commitment to bringing our troops home will lead to less violence and more reconciliation. I am not sure of this prediction, but it would certainly be nice. Clinton also favors an increase in diplomacy and humanitarian aid to those hurt by this conflict.

As our forces redeploy out of Iraq, Hillary would also organize a multi-billion dollar international effort -- funded by a wide range of donor states -- under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to address the needs of Iraqi refugees. And as we replace military force with diplomacy and global leadership, Hillary will not lose sight of our very real strategic interests in the region. She would devote the resources we need to fight terrorism and will order specialized units to engage in narrow and targeted operations against al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations in the region.

That last bit is interesting; particularly in the repeated assertions of Conservatives that Liberals don't want to fight terrorists. But I suspect you always knew that was nonsensical.