Bill on Iraq war: 'It still can work'
The war in Iraq can still succeed, and the time isn't right for a pullout, former President Bill Clinton told a Westchester Community College reception yesterday.
"We should all want this enterprise to work, and there's a lot of evidence it still can work," Clinton said, noting that a higher percentage of Iraqis than Americans voted in the last elections.
The former President said he respects Democratic Rep. John Murtha's proposal to withdraw troops from Iraq and establish a border strike force, but disagrees.
"We need to make it work now, because if we do pull out, Sunni Iraq will turn into the terrorist hotbed that they were accused of being before," Clinton said. After the Dec. 15 Iraqi elections, though, there could be a "fairly substantial drawdown" of U.S. troops in Iraq, Clinton said.
Clinton also said it was a "mistake" to invade Iraq in 2003 when chief UN inspector Hans Blix was "begging" for a few more weeks to complete weapons inspections.
Derek Rose