Lieberman Jabs at Rumsfeld, Saying Military Needs a Change

[Snowden]

Lieberman Jabs at Rumsfeld, Saying Military Needs a Change

Karin Cooper/CBS via Associated Press
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” said there was “still hope in Iraq.”


By JENNIFER MEDINA





HARTFORD, Aug. 20 — Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, facing continued criticism from many in the Democratic Party because of his support for the war in Iraq, leveled his most pointed criticism yet at the Pentagon during a television interview on Sunday, calling for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Ned Lamont, who defeated Mr. Lieberman in the Democratic primary this month, said later that he had advocated that stance for months, and he questioned the timing of the senator’s criticism.

With the nation profoundly divided over the war, the men sought to hone their positions in increasingly pointed remarks.

“I think it’s still time for new leadership at the Pentagon,” Mr. Lieberman said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “With all respect to Don Rumsfeld, who has done a grueling job for six years, we would benefit from new leadership to work with our military in Iraq.”

Mr. Lamont, in an interview at a campaign stop in New Britain, said that while Mr. Rumsfeld’s resignation would be “absolutely necessary” for a “fresh strategy” in Iraq, it would do little to quiet the increasing violence.

“I think every day that we’re there the situation is getting worse,” Mr. Lamont said. “The best hope for us to change course is to have Iraqis step up and replace American frontline personnel and do that within the next year.”

Mr. Lieberman has repeatedly criticized calls by Mr. Lamont and other Democrats for a timeline for troop withdrawal.

On Sunday, he said that the situation in Iraq had worsened in the past six months but that setting a deadline would be a “disaster.”

“There is still hope in Iraq, and as long as there is, we cannot just pick up and walk away and leave them to the sure disaster that would follow and would compromise our security in the war on terrorism,” Mr. Lieberman said.

Shortly after losing the primary, Mr. Lieberman said that if the United States were to withdraw troops by a specific date, it would be seen as a victory for terrorists.

While he stands by his vote to authorize the war in Iraq, in recent weeks he has sought to clarify his views, saying he has been critical all along of the Bush administration’s handling of the war.

Previously, Mr. Lieberman had been on both sides of the issue of Mr. Rumsfeld’s resignation. During a television interview in October 2003, when he was running for the Democratic nomination for president, he said it was the president’s prerogative to ask for Mr. Rumsfeld’s resignation, and added that he would do so if he were president. But earlier this year, when several retired generals urged Mr. Rumsfeld to resign, Mr. Lieberman did not back such an ouster.

Asked about Mr. Lieberman’s comments Sunday, Lt. Col. Gary Keck, a Pentagon spokesman, said Mr. Rumsfeld “serves at the pleasure of the president and has repeatedly made it known that he does not get involved in political discussions of this type.”

Mr. Lieberman also said on Sunday that he would support an “international crisis conference” on the war in Iraq, convened with leaders from the United States, Europe and Arab countries.

Mr. Lamont said such a conference would be “welcome and long overdue” but would be difficult without committing to troop withdrawal.

“There are no good choices, because President Bush rushed us into this war,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s a political solution, and other governments have to lend their support to help pacify the region, but that’s much more difficult when you have an American face on this war for so long.”

He added: “I appreciate the fact that on the eve of an election Senator Lieberman is now talking about Rumsfeld resigning, but where was he years ago?”

A supporter of Mr. Lamont, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, who sponsored an amendment earlier this summer calling for troops to begin pulling out of Iraq by July, stepped up his attacks on Mr. Lieberman, saying he was making a “huge mistake” by running as an independent.

“I am concerned that he is making a Republican case and he is uttering almost the same words as Vice President Cheney, and I think it’s inappropriate,” Mr. Kerry said in an interview Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

Last week, Mr. Kerry sent two e-mail fund-raising appeals to his supporters, urging them to back Mr. Lamont in his bid against Mr. Lieberman and commending Mr. Lamont as having the “courage” to argue against the war.

Mr. Lieberman said Mr. Kerry’s actions were “just plain politics by somebody who has ambitions of his own.”

Mr. Lamont, who frequently refers to the situation in Iraq as a “bloody civil war,” and his allies have tried to portray Mr. Lieberman as too close to President Bush on the war and some domestic policies. Mr. Lieberman calls that a distortion of his record. While he has received widespread support from local and national Republican leaders, on Sunday he called himself a “devoted” Democrat and said he would continue to caucus with the party if re-elected.



http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/21/ny...html?th&emc=th