Pataki Opposes Troop Surge

Jan. 26, 2007 — -- The battle for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination is set for a rigorous debate about what the United States should do in Iraq.

The possible entry of former Republican Gov. George Pataki of New York, who opposes the president's plan to send 20,000 U.S. troops to Iraq, sets up a clear divide between the front-runners for the nomination (Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; former Gov. Mitt Romney R-Mass.; and former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, R-N.Y.), and the second-tier candidates in the field.

In a speech Friday morning at Georgetown University, Pataki said the United States has gone from liberator to occupier in Iraq, and that the Iraqi government must meet certain requirements if U.S. troops are to remain in the country.

"If they want Americans to continue to die in defense of their government, if they want Americans to continue to pour tens of billions of dollars into their people's schools, services and security, we can and must first demand action on their part," he said.

Pataki also endorsed a timeline for the Iraqi government to meet benchmarks and said the U.S. commitment must not be open-ended.

According to his spokesperson, Pataki is expected to announce his 2008 intentions sometime within the next few weeks. In opposing President Bush's new way forward in Iraq, Pataki, if he chooses to enter the presidential waters, joins Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., as Republican 2008 hopefuls who have broken with their party and opposed the president's strategy in Iraq.

No Republican has more fervently expressed his opposition to the war than Hagel, who co-sponsored and voted in favor of a Senate resolution that declares the troop increase against the national interest. He has also described the war as "the worst foreign policy blunder since Vietnam."

Brownback, one week before he officially launched his White House bid, announced from Iraq that sending more troops there is not a solution to the sectarian strife. "Iraq requires a political rather than a military solution," the senator said.