Iraq issue

Joe Biden
Biden sees no purely military solution to the situation in Iraq. He advocates a power sharing arrangement between Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds whereby Iraq's 18 provinces join together in regions, each with its own security forces, and exercise control over most day-to-day issues.

Hillary Clinton
Clinton supports capping U.S. troop levels in Iraq. She has proposed legislation that would require beginning a troop withdrawal within 90 days of the law's enactment. She says she would like to have all troops out of Iraq by the end of her first term but has not stated when during the term that would happen. She advocates benchmarks for the Iraqi government with real consequences if it fails to meet them.

Chris Dodd
Dodd supports redeployment of U.S. troops now in Iraq. He would continue to commit U.S. forces to Iraq for force and infrastructure protection, counterterrorism operations and training Iraqi forces. He also would engage all nations of the Middle East in a regional summit to seek diplomatic solutions to the region's problems.

John Edwards
Edwards says the Iraqi people must solve the problem politically by taking responsibility for their country. He calls for the immediate withdrawal of up to 50,000 troops to prompt the Iraqi people, regional powers and the entire international community to find the political solution that will end the sectarian violence and create a stable Iraq.

Rudy Giuliani
Giuliani says he believes that setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq would be a mistake because it would embolden the enemy. He sees Iraq as one front in the War on Terror and says failure there would lead to a broader and bloodier regional conflict in the near future. He says an accountable Iraq would reduce the threat of terrorism.

Mike Gravel
Gravel was one of the first public figures to oppose the invasion of Iraq.? He advocates an immediate and orderly withdrawal of all U.S. troops and aggressive diplomacy with Iraq's neighbors to bring an end to the conflict.? He calls for all Iraqi reconstruction contracts to be shifted from U.S. companies to Iraqi companies.

Mike Huckabee
Huckabee calls Iraq "a battle in our generational, ideological war on terror."? He supports the troop surge and opposes a timetable for withdrawal.? He says withdrawal of U.S. forces “would have serious strategic consequences for us and horrific humanitarian consequences for the Iraqis.”? He supports a regional summit to gain the financial and political support of Iraq's neighbors.

Duncan Hunter
Hunter advocates peace through strength. He promotes a policy that supports U.S. interests by spreading freedom abroad. He says the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq were the greatest actions to protect human rights in this decade.

Dennis Kucinich
Kucinich calls for closing all U.S. military bases in Iraq and the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops.? He also calls for a withdrawal of U.S. contractors and advisers, turning over all reconstruction work to be administered by Iraqi government with significant U.S. funding.? He wants to convene a conference with the countries of the region and the United Nations to create a stabilization force in Iraq.

John McCain
McCain wants a greater military commitment to achieve long-term success in Iraq. He says there are simply not enough American forces to clear and hold insurgent strongholds, provide security for rebuilding local institutions, halt sectarian violence in Baghdad, dismantle al-Qaida, train the Iraqi army and embed American personnel in Iraqi police units.

Barack Obama
Obama was an early critic of the Iraq war.? He would withdraw combat troops at the rate of one to two brigades per month. He wants to convene a constitutional convention in Iraq to achieve an agreement on reconciliation.? He also would pursue a security compact with Iraq's neighbors.

Ron Paul
In 2002, Paul was one of only six House Republicans to vote against the Iraq war resolution.? He says the United States should not entangle itself in the affairs of other nations and calls for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from around the world to focus on securing the United States at home.

Bill Richardson
Richardson says he can sum up his plan for the war in Iraq with two words: “End it.”? He wants a quick withdrawal of U.S. troops so that a new political process can begin. ?He says the U.S. presence in Iraq simply prolongs the violence and distracts the United States from the war against al-Qaida.

Mitt Romney
Romney supports the troop surge and cautions against a quick withdrawal.? He wants to maintain a U.S. presence as long as there is a reasonable probability that Iraq's government can quell sectarian violence. He says a U.S. withdrawal now would leave Iraq bogged down in a regional conflict.

Fred Thompson
Thompson asserts that Iraq is part of a larger war against radical Islam.? He says the United States must remain united in its determination to prevail not only in Iraq but in the worldwide conflict against Islamic extremism that will continue long after the war in Iraq is over.