HOME / slate fare: The inner workings of Slate.

The Great Presidential MashupThe Democrats on Iraq.

Posted Friday, Sept. 7, 2007, at 10:23 AM ET

(Continued from page 4)

RSS

We have convinced some people, including some folks on this stage, that this was a mistake, and that it was important for us to start drawing troops down. But apparently we had not convinced enough Republicans, and at that point, it was my belief that the only way we could send a strong signal to the president to make sure that he came back to the table was to vote no on that supplemental.

I find it amusing that those who helped to authorize and engineer the biggest foreign policy disaster in our generation are now criticizing me for making sure that we are on the right battlefield and not the wrong battlefield in the war against terrorism.

Gov. Bill Richardson

South Carolina Debate, April 26, 2007

Let me be very clear about my position. This war is a disaster. We must end this war.

This is what I would do if were president today. I would withdraw all of our troops, including residual troops, by the end of this calendar year. I would use the leverage of that withdrawal, coupled with intensive diplomacy in three areas. One, a political framework led by the United States where the three religious entities in Iraq have a coalition government, divide oil revenues and possibly set up three separate entities. No. 2, I would convene a security conference, and I would invite Iran and Syria. We have to have an international peacekeeping effort. Thirdly, I would have a donor conference. I would have other countries take over the reconstruction responsibility and the security of Iraq.

New Hampshire Debate, June 3, 2007

I've spent a lot of time in this region. I was U.N. ambassador. Eighty percent of my time was spent on the Iraq issue. I've talked to the leaders there.

There is a fundamental difference between my position and the position of my good friends here. I believe that it's a civil war. I believe that there is sectarian conflict already. There is enormous turmoil.

I would keep troops in Kuwait, where they are wanted. I would move them to Afghanistan to fight al-Qaida. But I believe that our troops have become a target. Our troops right now have done a magnificent job.

All of these resolutions, the funding—supplemental appropriation on funding, on issues relating to timetables—is not working because the president is vetoing.

CNN/ YouTube Debate, July 23, 2007

There's a big difference on Iraq between me and the senators, and here's where it is: The lives of our young troops are more important than George Bush's legacy. This is what I stand for: I believe we should bring all the troops home by the end of this year, in six months, with no residual forces—no residual forces. This is critically important. A hundred American troops are dying every month. And this war is a quagmire. It's endless.

The time has come to bring the troops home. No politics.

AFL-CIO Debate, Aug. 7, 2007

I believe that I would have the ability to bring this country together, to heal this country, to end the divisions after the Iraq war.