Biden Camp Hits Richardson for Opposition to Residual Force in Iraq

ABC News’ Teddy Davis and Tahman Bradley Report: Sen. Joe Biden’s D-Del., presidential campaign took a swipe at Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., a rival for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, for not wanting to leave a residual force behind in Iraq after combat troops are withdrawn.

"Richardson is wrong to rule out a small residual force to prevent Al Qaeda from gaining a foothold and to continue training Iraqis," said Biden aide Luis Navarro in a statement released by the campaign.

Richardson told "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" earlier this month that he believes withdrawing all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2007 can be used as "leverage" to get "Moslem nations, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Syria," and "NATO countries into a security framework to guarantee security and reconstruction" for Iraq.