Ned Lamont on War & Peace

	Ned Lamont on War & Peace Democratic Challenger

The stay-the-course strategy is a recipe for failure

Q: How would failure in Iraq affect US policy?

LIEBERMAN: I'm not prepared to give up on Iraq and I'm not prepared to fail. Ned Lamont has embraced a proposal for withdrawal by July 2007. To me, that's not a plan for success, that's retreat and a recipe for disaster, and it will deeply hurt the American people.

LAMONT: During George Bush's rush to war in Iraq, we needed checks & balances, and tough questions asked. But every step of the way, there was Senator Lieberman saying "stay the course," and I think that was wrong. And here we are, years later, with our troops stuck in the middle of a bloody civil war. It's time for us to challenge the old thinking. We got ourselves into this mess not because we asked too many questions, but because we asked too few. With this election, we're going to start asking the tough questions again. Question #1 is How can we get our troops home safely? Joe Lieberman & George Bush's stay-the-course strategy - that's the recipe for failure.

Source: CT 2006 Debate with George Stephanopoulos , Oct 23, 2006

Lieberman is only person confused about my position on Iraq

LIEBERMAN: My opponent is running against me on this one issue [of Iraq]. And yet even on this one issue, he has taken all sorts of positions.

LAMONT: Senator, you're the only person in Connecticut who is confused about my position on the war in Iraq. President Bush rushed us into this war. He told us it would be easy. We would be welcomed as liberators. Weapons of mass destruction. And Sen. Lieberman cheered on the president every step of the way, when we should have been asking the tough questions. And this war is not a single issue, Senator. It says so much about what type of a country we are. The tens of thousands of people who have died and been wounded, the hundreds of billions of dollars that have been spent and wasted and the values, the values about this country and our moral authority, and what it says about who we are. It's destabilized the Middle East, it was a mistake, and we should admit it.

Source: 2006 Connecticut Democratic Senate Primary debate , Jul 6, 2006

6 months to withdraw from front lines; 12 months out of Iraq

LIEBERMAN [to Lamont]: This piece of paper shows on one day in March you support redeployment of troops. Then you said you're not willing to set a timetable for withdrawal. Then you said I think it's time for the troops to start heading home. Do you support a specific deadline for getting out of Iraq?

LAMONT: Absolutely. Like Chris Dodd, like the heart of the Democratic Party, I supported both of those amendments [setting a deadline for withdrawal]. It's time for us to change course. Time for us to start getting our frontline troops out of harm's way, within the next six months, and we get our troops out of Iraq over the course of the next year. That fundamentally is a change of direction. You have an open-ended stay-the-course strategy.

LIEBERMAN: Absolutely untrue. I have said the sooner we get out of Iraq, the better. But if we get out too soon, it will be a disaster for the Iraqis and for us. If you tell your enemy when you're going to leave, they'll wait and create disaster.

Source: 2006 Connecticut Democratic Senate Primary debate , Jul 6, 2006

$250M per day in Iraq better spent on domestic issues

Ned Lamont slammed the Bush administration and Joe Lieberman, saying they pushed America into an ill-fated war in Iraq. "George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman rushed us into this war, got our 132,000 troops stuck in a bloody civil war, and they should be held accountable," Lamont said.

Lamont said people wonder why America can afford $250 million a day to fight in Iraq but can't afford universal health-care coverage, or "to give our kids a running head start," he said.

Source: Peter Urban in Connecticut Post , Jun 15, 2006

Hold Bush & Lieberman accountable for mess in Iraq

Three years ago, Pres. Bush rushed our country to war in Iraq and Sen. Lieberman has cheered him on every step of the way. No, there was no imminent threat to America, there were no weapons of mass destruction, and we were not greeted as liberators.

Today, America is no safer, Israel is no safer, Iran is more dangerous, Osama bin Laden is still at large, & our brave troops are stuck in the middle of a bloody civil war. I believe that those leaders who got us into this mess should be held accountable

Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, www.NedLamont.com , May 2, 2006

"Stay the course" is not a winning strategy in Iraq

I salute the patriotism of those who emphasize that "stay the course" is not a winning strategy for Iraq or America. Our best chance of success requires that the Iraqis take control of their own destiny. America should make clear that we have no designs upon their oil and no plans for permanent bases. While we will continue to provide logistical and training support as long as we are asked, our frontline military troops should begin to be redeployed and our troops should start heading home. Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, www.NedLamont.com , May 2, 2006

Iraq war has diverted our funds and our attention

I believe that the war in Iraq has diverted far too many of our dollars, and too much of our attention, from our needs back home. The crisis in health care, lack of progress towards energy independence, and struggling public schools are examples of how our government is not leading, but allowing lobbyists and special interests to write the rules. Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, nedlamont.com, "issues" , Apr 23, 2006

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