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Richardson Campaign Press Release - Democratic Presidential Candidate Bill Richardson Begins Series of Iraq Town Hall Discussions in Iowa

September 13, 2007

First discussion held in Council Bluffs, next stop is Sioux City

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA-- New Mexico Governor and Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Richardson today began a series of town hall discussions across Iowa on the Iraq war. Governor Richardson outlined his plan for redeploying all U.S. troops from Iraq in six to eight months without leaving behind residual forces.

"Redeploying all of our troops is the only way to truly end this war," Governor Richardson said to the audience in Council Bluffs. "We cannot make real progress until all of our soldiers are out of Iraq. Our troops have served honorably and bravely, but they are mired in a conflict with no military solution. The best course is to redeploy them to areas where they are needed, like Afghanistan."

Governor Richardson also discussed his plan to end the violence in Iraq after American forces leave. He said that he would promote an Iraqi Reconciliation Conference to bring the warring factions together and work with Iraq's neighbors, including Syria and Iran, to create an all-Muslim peacekeeping force to stabilize the country. He also would convene a donor conference to fund Iraq's reconstruction.

In recent debates and in a Washington Post opinion piece, Governor Richardson has called on his Democratic opponents to specify how many American troops they would leave behind in Iraq and for how long.

"Let's stop pretending that all Democratic plans are similar," Governor Richardson wrote. "The American people deserve precise answers from anyone who would be commander in chief. How many troops would you leave in Iraq? For how long? To do what, exactly?"

On Monday, Governor Richardson released a statement highlighting his disagreement with General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker on U.S. policy in Iraq. Governor Richardson called pursuing the current Iraq strategy "unacceptable, irresponsible, and dangerous."

Bill Richardson, Richardson Campaign Press Release - Democratic Presidential Candidate Bill Richardson Begins Series of Iraq Town Hall Discussions in Iowa Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/294718

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