Reuters : Reaction from 2008 W.House hopefuls to Bush speech

Reaction from 2008 W.House hopefuls to Bush speech

September 14, 2007

Sept 13 (Reuters) - Following is reaction by some U.S. presidential candidates to President George W. Bush's plan to withdraw about 20,000 U.S. troops in Iraq by mid-2008. Bush said the American engagement in Iraq would extend beyond his presidency, leaving the conflict to his successor.

DEMOCRATIC SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN OF DELAWARE:

"This is bizarre. It's all about handing the war off to the next president. It's not about solving any problems. ... All this is is a continuation of a God-awful failed policy. ... There is no strategy here."

DEMOCRATIC SEN. HILLARY CLINTON OF NEW YORK:

"What the president told the American people tonight is that one year from now, there will be the same number of troops in Iraq as there were one year ago. That is simply too little too late, and unacceptable to this Congress and the American people who have made clear their strong desire to bring our brave troops home."

DEMOCRATIC SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD OF CONNECTICUT:

"Not only is the president not offering us anything new; he's insulting our intelligence."

FORMER DEMOCRATIC SEN. JOHN EDWARDS OF NORTH CAROLINA:

"Unfortunately, the president is pressing on with the only strategy he's ever had -- more time, more troops, and more war. ... Now, after General (David) Petraeus reports the surge has produced no progress toward a political solution, what does the president want? More time for the surge to work, when all of us know it won't."

FORMER REPUBLICAN NEW YORK MAYOR RUDY GIULIANI:

"The mission in Iraq is safety and security in Iraq, and of course the end purpose of that is so we can have an ally against Islamic terrorism. We can be successful in that. I don't see the idea of running out, withdrawing and retreating."

REPUBLICAN SEN. JOHN MCCAIN OF ARIZONA:

"I think what I find interesting is the lack of appreciation of success on the part of many of my friends on the other side of the aisle, success that we have achieved in a relatively short period of time after four years of failure under the (then-Defense Secretary Donald) Rumsfeld doctrine, strategy, which was a disaster."

DEMOCRATIC SEN. BARACK OBAMA OF ILLINOIS:

"Iraq's leaders are not making the political progress that was the stated purpose of the surge, but the president wants us to keep giving him a blank check. We must not continue the enormous sacrifice of our troops, our military readiness, our treasury, and our standing in the world just to keep the violence at the same unacceptable levels it was at in 2005 and 2006."

FORMER REPUBLICAN MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY:

"President Bush understands that our most crucial objective in Iraq is to make sure it does not become a safe haven for al-Qaeda and Jihadist terrorists. But that's just what would happen if Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards have their way. Our troop presence has emboldened Sunni leaders to resist al-Qaeda. This is progress -- important progress."

FORMER REPUBLICAN SEN. FRED THOMPSON OF TENNESSEE:

"Every day, our troops in Iraq demonstrate a heroic resolve to win. I wish Democrats in Washington would dedicate as much time and energy to winning as they do on how to surrender the fight."