Top Commander Denounces Call for Iraq Withdrawal Deadline [View All]

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/16/AR2005111601427.html

Top Commander Denounces Call for Iraq Withdrawal Deadline


BAGHDAD, Nov. 16 -- A top American commander in Iraq on Wednesday denounced calls by some U.S. senators and others for a deadline on withdrawal from Iraq, calling that "a recipe for disaster" for the 2 -year-old war.

"Setting a date would mean that the 221 soldiers I've lost this year, that their lives will have been lost in vain," said Maj. Gen. William Webster, whose 3rd Infantry Division is responsible for security in three-fourths of Iraq's capital.

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"Our troops are trying to get this accomplished," Webster told a small group of reporters. "They believe they're doing the right thing. The soldiers believe they're helping."

While the United States has an exit strategy from Iraq, Webster said, he believed leaders had yet to even privately fix a plan setting dates for phased withdrawals. "I think it's a recipe for disaster," he said of the demands for such deadlines. "Setting a date is a loser."