Thread: Tancredo undecided on troops

http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_5218654

Tancredo undecided on troops
Tancredo's web site says he wants troops 'disengaged' from Iraq in November
By Anne C. Mulkern
Denver Post Staff Writer
Denver Post
Article Last Updated:02/13/2007 05:10:02 PM MST

Presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo hasn't decided how to vote on the House resolution disagreeing with President Bush's plan to send additional troops to Baghdad, his spokesman said today.

"He's going to be waiting to see what comes of the debate," Espinosa said. "He's actually going to sit and listen."

Tancredo, R-Littleton, has opened a presidential exploratory committee, saying that he sees a lack of a true conservative candidate. He visited Iowa last month.

On the website of that presidential effort, teamtancredo.com, Tancredo lists defense as one of his key issues.

Asked whether a conservative Republican potentially running for president could vote for the resolution, Espinosa said, "That's a good question. We're going to find out."

On the issue of Iraq, he says on that website: "The deep schisms in Islam will force countries in the region to impose (political) equilibrium. Our continued presence in Iraq as the referee in a civil war inhibits this development.

"We must take whatever steps are necessary to assure our ability to respond quickly to events in the area as the process of creating this new balance of power goes on," Tancredo adds on the site. "But the quicker that process starts, the better."

He then said the benchmark of November that Bush set in his State of the Union speech for achieving control of Iraq "should be more than a benchmark. I believe it should be used as the time frame for our disengagement from Iraq."

Espinosa said Tancredo "absolutely" supports withdrawal of troops in November if the benchmarks aren't met.

When we first went into Iraq the top brass went around pockets of the enemy and left them there. That was when I realized we were not in the war to win and began to question why we were there. There was enough intel both US and other that Iraq had WMD that the president deserved the benefit of doubt but when in a war to win you don't leave the enemy at your back; you don't send inexperienced young people to run your effort as was done with many of the civilians we sent over there; and you do listen your military commanders on how to run the war.

tom is doing the right thing by waiting and listening. You don't want to make a bad decision on something as important as this.

Beckyal wrote:

tom is doing the right thing by waiting and listening. You don't want to make a bad decision on something as important as this.

I agree, many bad decisions have been made in haste. I am glad he is putting some deep thought into it.