Durbin OKs troop hike as part of Iraq exit

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By Ed Tibbetts | Thursday, December 21, 2006 1:11 AM CST | () comments

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Wednesday that he would support an increase in American troops to Iraq only if it was part of a larger plan to get them home.

Durbin’s comments come as speculation swirls about whether President Bush will seek an increase in troops to Iraq.

The president declined to speculate about the possibility at a news conference Wednesday but said he would seek a greater commitment from U.S. allies in the war effort.

Durbin, who was touring the River Bend Foodbank in Moline, said the call for a greater sacrifice from allies is overdue. And he echoed comments incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., made over the weekend that a troop increase must be temporary and consistent with a plan to get Americans out of Iraq.

“I would only support a surge in troops if it is part of a carefully planned timetable to bring American troops home,” Durbin said.

He noted the Iraq Support Group report projected that combat troops could be out of the country by the first part of 2008, meaning an average of 10,000 per month beginning in January.

“If we need initially some troops in Baghdad, for example, to quiet the situation, make it more peaceful so that our soldiers start coming home, then I would accept it,” he said.

Some Senate Democrats, including Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., have said they don’t support that position.

Durbin added that sending troops without the timetable would send the wrong message to Iraqis “that every time there’s problems, Americans will ride to the rescue.”

The senator’s tour of the food bank follows his introduction of a bill last session that would expand federal funding for such operations.

The bill passed the Senate but not the House, he said, and he plans to reintroduce it next session.

The bill would set as a goal the elimination of hunger in the United States and establish a pair of grant programs, both of which would be funded at $50 million per year over five years.

Durbin praised the Student Hunger Drive of the Quad-Cities and encouraged support of food banks at all times of the year.

“I would hope that all of us would keep that Christmas spirit all year round when it comes to helping those who are hungry in America,” Durbin said.

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