Iraq loomed larger on the US political landscape yesterday, after a prominent Democratic senator was denied renomination for a fourth term largely because of his support for the war.
Longtime US Senator Joe Lieberman, however, vowed to fight for his job. After conceding Tuesday's Democratic primary vote, he announced that he would run as an independent in November's general election.
Lieberman's outspoken support for the US administration's war in Iraq was rejected by many voters in the lawmaker's northeastern home state of Connecticut, and seems likely to become an issue in November.
Lieberman -- Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 presidential election won by now-President George W. Bush -- was challenged for his Senate seat by Lamont, fellow Democrat and businessman.
With 99.6 percent of precincts reporting early yesterday, businessman challenger Ned Lamont prevailed with 52 percent of the vote to Lieberman's 48 percent, according to the Hartford Courant newspaper.
"The old politics of partisan polarization won today," the Hartford Courant quoted Lieberman as saying as he conceded the primary election, which chooses a party's nominee for the November general election.
"For the sake of our state, our country and my party, I cannot and will not let that result stand," he added before announcing his decision to run outside the party.
The balloting comes with Iraq likely to be the top issue in November, and offers what pundits believe could be a preview of that election, when voters could return control of Congress -- currently held by the Republicans -- back to Democrats.
Lamont, 52, a wealthy businessman from the tony village of Greenwich, Connecticut who boasts a net worth of some US$100 million, vowed to hold the administration's feet to the fire on Iraq and US national security issues.
"I think the issues were on our side. People fundamentally want a change in Washington," he told MSNBC television on Tuesday.
"The people in Connecticut think that staying the course is not a winning strategy in Iraq. They want to start bringing our troops home. They want to start investing that money back in the United States of America," Lamont said.
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
TRIP TO TAIWAN: The resumption of group tours from China should be discussed between the two agencies tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday reassured China-based businesspeople that he would follow former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) cross-strait policy to facilitate healthy and orderly exchanges with Beijing and build a resilient economy. “As president, I have three missions. First, I will follow president Tsai’s ‘four commitments’ to ensure that the country continues to exist and survive,” Lai told participants at a Lunar New Year event in Taipei hosted by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). Lai said his second mission is to uphold the “four pillars of peace” by bolstering national defense, developing a growing and resilient economy, building partnerships with
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his