Home > Republican Rep. Coble agrees with Rep. Kucinich- Bring the troops home

Republican Rep. Coble agrees with Rep. Kucinich- Bring the troops home

by Open-Publishing - Sunday 9 January 2005
9 comments

Edito Wars and conflicts International USA

U.S. Rep. Coble says Iraq pullout should be considered

By Stan Swofford

GREENSBORO, N.C. - U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, a Greensboro Republican and close ally of President Bush, says the United States should consider pulling out of war-ravaged Iraq.

Coble is one of the first members of Congress to suggest a withdrawal publicly.

The 10-term congressman said in an interview with the News & Record of Greensboro that he’s "fed up with picking up the newspaper and reading that we’ve lost another five or 10 of our young men and women in Iraq."

Support among Coble’s 6th District constituents has also waned, his office said.

The dean of the state’s congressional delegation said he arrived at his position only after many months of searching in vain for evidence that the Bush administration had a post-invasion strategy to deal with the transition to Iraqi self-government.

Coble, who has represented the 6th District since 1984, says he voted to give Bush sweeping war-making powers assuming the administration had a post-invasion strategy.

"If there was, I wish someone would tell me what it is or show it to me," he said. "I’d like to see it."

The congressman said he thought Bush was correct in attacking Iraq, and that he and most of his constituents still believe it was the right decision because "we’ve done a lot of good over there."

That includes capturing Saddam Hussein, "the international terrorist, the tyrant, the snake," he said.

But a troop withdrawal should be an option if the Iraqi government is unable or unwilling to "shoulder more of the heavy lifting" for its own security, Coble said.

There has been little or no indication that the Iraqi government can do that, he said.

"What we have are Iraqis killing Iraqis and American troops," Coble said. "All I’m saying is that a troop withdrawal ought to be an option. It ought to be placed on the table for consideration.

"I’m going to keep talking about this," he said.

Coble, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, said he may broach the idea to the panel.

The congressman from Greensboro said he is aware that few members of Congress have said openly that the country should consider withdrawing from Iraq. Republican Rep. James A. Leach of Iowa may be the only other GOP congressman to call for a pullout, he said.

Leach said on the House floor more than a year ago that the United States should begin a withdrawal that would be complete by the end of 2004.

Although many Democrats in Congress have sharply criticized the Bush administration’s decision to invade Iraq, as well as its conduct of the war, most say the United States must stay until the Iraqi government is strong enough to defend itself.

Only Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination, called for a U.S. troop withdrawal to be accomplished in 90 days.

Insurgent violence against Iraqi security forces and Americans has increased as the Jan. 30 date for the country’s national elections draws closer.

More than 1,200 Americans have been killed since U.S. forces first occupied Baghdad in May 2003, when Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq. The number includes at least 886 killed since U.S. forces captured former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on Dec. 13, 2003.

According to figures compiled by Coble’s office, 31 military men and women from North Carolina had died in Iraq as of Dec. 11, and 279 had been wounded.

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Information from: News & Record,
http://www.news-record.com/news/loc...

Forum posts

  • Get your war criminals home and bring them to justice.

  • Wow, this is an unbelievable quote

    ...says he voted to give Bush sweeping war-making powers assuming the administration had a post-invasion strategy.

    "If there was, I wish someone would tell me what it is or show it to me," he said. "I’d like to see it.".

    Let this be the beginning of republicans thinking for themselves. Heck, maybe some of the dems can get a clue too.

  • Finally, a POSSIBLE light at the end of a dark, winding tunnel for families of military personal. Of course we shouldn’t have gone in-now the politicians that planned this war of choice must be prosecuted. They have broken international law, the Geneva Conventions and United States law-it’s no stretch-read them. The Geneva Conventions allows for ALL of those who planned this war and advised, aided, ect to be charged with war crimes. They’ll be infamous -Bush, Cheney, Powell, Rumsfield, Wolfowitz, Cambone, Gonzales, Ashcroft and more....The W worshippers who couldn’t see the forest for the trees can apologize to the rest of us not only for validating team Bushs’ actions by voting for him . They have offended the morals and true American values of many decent Americans, and wrecked Americas international reputation in such a reprehensible manner I wonder if she’ll ever recover.

  • The congressman said he thought Bush was correct in attacking Iraq, and that he and most of his constituents still believe it was the right decision because "we’ve done a lot of good over there."

    How convenient, omitting the original reason for an unprovoked attack (i.e., WMD poised for use against the US) on a soverign nation, in his justification ’short list’. Now just one more ’war criminal’ with blood on his hands...1200 US Dead 10,000 wounded/maimed and 100,000 +Iraqis and counting.

    Turn him out and turn him in to the Hague along with the rest of BushCo.

  • About time some one said aloud "Pull out". This was no more than finishing daddys unfinished business. Now that we are there and satan is gone they need to shoulder some responsibility. Remember there will always be a bigger snake. Will the US bed down with it? Go Howard!!!!!!

  • I’m glad a Republican finally has the courage to call for a withdrawal, albeit a little late. I was totally opposed to this war from the get-go. Wars are just excuses to try out new weapons, and generate profits for politicians and corporations. I didn’t always feel that way. When I was young, and my country called upon me to serve, I willingly went to Vietnam. Not only was I young, but I was also ignorant about politics. Vietnam was a wake-up call, and I learned real fast about the lies our governments tell. I haven’t trusted them since. I’m sure many Iraq war veterans will feel the same way, once they come home. Unfortunately, this was is being fought by a 100% volunteer force. If we still had the draft, the anti-war crowd (of which I am one) would have had a much stronger voice. Pray for our troops, and send our traiterous warmongering government officials to jail.

  • Another Representative from Wisconsin joins in...right on Rep. Tammy Balwin!

    "I believe it is important that the administration be forced to articulate when U.S. troops will be coming home - and the circumstances that would allow this. The administration’s refusal to address that is quite astounding to me. We must continue to press them."

    http://www.madison.com/tct/mad/loca...