Hare, Callahan: Time for troops to come home
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Two Illinois Democrats, one already in Congress and the other hoping to get there, delivered a similar message Wednesday: U.S. troops need to come home from Iraq.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">In separate Statehouse news conferences, U.S. Rep. Phil Hare and 18th District congressional candidate Colleen Callahan said they don't support immediate withdrawal from Iraq. But both said they believe that officials should develop a timeline for pulling troops out of that country.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Callahan recalled a trip she took to Iraq in November 2003, when she accompanied then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and paid her own way.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">"I still communicate with soldiers I met in Iraq," Callahan said. "Proud as they are of the work they have done, these brave men and women continue to be frustrated with this never-ending war, and they need to know that the end is near."
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Hare said last year's military surge, which boosted the number of troops in Iraq, has "tamped down" levels of violence but isn't enough to end the war.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">"There's been no diplomatic surge, and that's what I'm most concerned about," Hare said, adding that he thinks U.S. troops won't be able to come home for at least another 1 1/2 years.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Hare also criticized President Bush's administration for spending so much on the Iraq war -- $13 billion to $14 billion a month, he said. That money could be redirected for domestic purposes, such as ensuring that children have health insurance, he added.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Hare, who lives in Rock Island, holds the 17th District congressional seat and is unopposed so far in the November general election. Callahan, a Kickapoo resident, will take on Republican Aaron Schock in November to determine who succeeds retiring U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">"Senator John McCain has said we could be in Iraq for 100 years," Callahan said, referring to the Republican presidential contender and Arizona senator. "This position is unacceptable, and I challenge my Republican opponent Aaron Schock to disavow this dangerous line of thinking."
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Schock said he believes McCain's comments were taken out of context, and that McCain was referring to a continued troop presence.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">"I don't believe a timeline should be artificially set by politicians who are trying to play generals back here in our country, but rather be made by the professionals who are on the ground and know the situation better than anyone," Schock said.
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;" class="BODY">Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292. Meagan Sexton can be reached at (217) 782-6882.