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US Democrats vague on Iraq plan

"The Iraqis need to take responsibility for their own future."

Ned Lamont, a Democratic candidate for the US Senate

With the US Senate race continuing to focus on the war in Iraq and national security, both Senator Joseph Lieberman and his Democratic challenger, Ned Lamont, have tried to explain to voters where the country's military strategy has gone wrong.

But both candidates are having trouble articulating precisely what to do next.

In speeches last week, Lamont and Lieberman spoke of the continued threat of Osama bin Laden and the growing anxiety over Iran, but they outlined their approaches rather than offering detailed plans on how or when to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq.

In many ways, the debate in Connecticut echoes many campaigns around the nation between Republican and Democratic candidates.

Lamont is eager to hammer home his point that the war in Iraq was a major mistake -- a war "we didn't have to fight," he said last week.

He has supported establishing a timeline for pulling out US troops, but he said that he believed a plan for withdrawal should be developed with the help of US commanders and the Iraqi government -- a position that many opponents of a set timeline also espouse.

Lieberman, who lost the Democratic primary to Lamont last month and is now running as an independent on his own line, has not backed off his support for the war and has emphasized the consequences if the US pulls out too soon. He has repeatedly said that he does not favor an indefinite commitment in Iraq, but he has not offered a concrete alternative.

Both campaigns have traded charges of flip-flopping on the issue, and both have used support from veterans to bolster their stances while attacking their opponents.

Lamont is facing the same challenge faced by many anti-war Democratic candidates -- criticizing the war, while talking tough on national security, to avoid alienating voters who are skeptical about a firm timeline for troop withdrawal.

Throughout his campaign, Lamont has referred to the war in Iraq as a "distraction" that has taken the "eye off the ball" of the broader war on terrorism. On Wednesday, he presented one of his first stabs at a change in policy, saying the US should shift troops to Afghanistan. While he repeated his support for setting a timeline for taking troops out of Iraq, however, he did not mention any dates.

"The Iraqis need to take responsibility for their own future," said Lamont, a cable executive who lives in Greenwich. "They will not do so until we make it clear that their political destiny is in their hands."
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