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Vilsack weighs in on Iraq

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By Ed Tibbetts | Monday, December 18, 2006 1:58 PM CST | () comments

TODAY: (Updated 1:55 p.m.) Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said today it would be a mistake to send more American troops to Iraq, calling on the chief advocate of the move, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz . , to rethink the matter.

Vilsack, a candidate for president, wrote a letter to McCain dated today, saying additional troops would make the Iraq government “more dependent instead of less dependent” on U.S. troops.

Vilsack’s rebuke comes the same day that potential presidential rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., said she opposes an increase unless it’s as part of a larger plan to stabilize the country.

Discussion of an increase in troops comes as President Bush is considering a different strategy in Iraq. Some reports suggest that an additional 20,000 troops could be sent to the area around Baghdad, where violence is most severe.

McCain, who is mulling a 2008 presidenti bid himself, has long advocated an increase in troops.

The Associated Press also reported that incoming Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., suggested over the weekend that he would support a temporary troop increase if it would speed up a permanent troop withdrawal.

Jeff Link, a Vilsack spokesman, said today the governor’s letter is a followup to comments he made more than two weeks ago on the subject.

Vilsack has said he favors a troop withdrawal but would keep some personnel in the northern part of the country as a hedge against antagonistic actions by Iraq’s neighbors.

Link said Vilsack’s letter was not prompted by Clinton’s comments.

Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.