Statement by Governor Bill Richardson Saying Potential Senate Compromise on Iraq War Will "Allow the Bloodshed to Continue"

LOS ANGELES, CA -- New Mexico Governor and Presidential candidate Bill Richardson today released the following statement on reports of a Senate compromise on Iraq:

"The time for deal-making is long past. We need real leadership in Washington to end this war and bring all of our troops home. The American people elected this Congress to create change and get us out of Iraq, and yet it still has not happened.

"Small concessions and Beltway brokered deals will only allow the bloodshed to continue. As Senators compromise, soldiers die.

"The longer our troops remain in Iraq, the longer we remain an excuse for the different groups in Iraq to avoid finding a political and diplomatic solution to the war.

"Our brave military has accomplished its mission. There is nothing more for them to do but to serve as targets for insurgents.

"I am the only major candidate who believes we should leave no residual forces in Iraq- zero. My opponents would leave behind an indeterminate number of residual forces.

"Only with a complete U.S. troop withdrawal -- supported by an all-Muslim U.N. peacekeeping force, aggressive regional diplomacy, and an Iraqi Reconciliation Conference to bring the different factions together -- can Iraq begin down the road toward security and stability."