By Ronald Baygents, KUNA,
Washington : US Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama said Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, and promised to stick to their plans to pull US troops out of Iraq within 16 months of assuming the presidency, during a debate on Wednesday night.
Debating in Philadelphia six days before the Pennsylvania primary, Obama said he would “take no options off the table” when it comes to stopping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and that keeping such weapons out of the hands of the Iranians would be a “top priority” if he is elected president.
However, Clinton and Obama also emphasized the need for a strong US diplomatic overture to Iran, with Obama saying he would meet with Iranian leaders, while Clinton said she would open US-Iran talks at a “low level,” and not with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
New York Senator Clinton, 60, said the United States must not let Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, and that the policies of President George W. Bush have resulted in Iran developing “fissile material.” She criticized Iran for its “support of terror in Lebanon” and elsewhere.
Clinton also called for creating a US-linked “security umbrella” in the Middle East so countries in the region can forswear developing their own nuclear weapons in the face of the Iranian threat.
Illinois Senator Obama, 46, said that as president he would meet with Iranian leaders in order to tell them directly of the issues of US concern, including their funding of terror groups, including Hamas. But Iran should be treated with a “carrots and sticks” approach, Obama said.
When the candidates were pressed on the question of whether an Iranian attack on Israel would be treated as an attack on the United States, Obama said such an attack “would be unacceptable,” and would be met with “appropriate action,” while Clinton said such an attack would “incur a massive retaliation” by the United States.
Asked if she would stick to her plan to pull US troops from Iraq starting 60 days after assuming the presidency in January, even if top military leaders say such a move would result in the loss of progress made in Iraq in the last year and a half, Clinton said yes.
She accused Bush of having changed the rationale for the Iraq war over the years, and said it is in the best interests of the United States and Iraq that the United States begin to plan for a pullout.
The Iraqi government will “no longer have a blank check,” Clinton said, and will know when she is president that they must do “what they have failed to do all these years.” The United States cannot maintain a strong position in the world by staying in Iraq, she said, noting that “Afghanistan has been neglected.” “We do not know what will happen if we withdraw” from Iraq, Clinton said. “We do know what will happen if we stay mired in Iraq.” She cited the high costs and the deterioration of the US military as two reasons the United States must leave Iraq.
Obama said he would stick to his plan to pull US troops from Iraq within 16 months, and said if US military leaders told him after he becomes president that a pullout would result in a loss of security gains in the last year and a half, Obama would remind them that “the Commander in Chief sets the mission.” Bush has been doing the reverse lately, Obama said, with the President saying “he takes his cues” from General David Petraeus, the top US military leader in Iraq.
Iraq is a “bad mission,” Obama said, that will not make America safer. Obama said he would always listen to military commanders on the ground on tactics. He said he would order US troops withdrawn from Iraq with no US military bases left behind, then the military commanders “can adjust the tactics.” The US military cannot sustain the losses and costs of staying in Iraq, Obama said.
“We continue to see Al-Qaeda growing stronger in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Obama said,” while “anti-American sentiment has fanned out across the Middle East.” Recent opinion polls show Clinton leading Obama by 5-7 percentage points among Democrats in Pennsylvania, who vote on Tuesday in what will be the most populous state remaining in the primary or caucus process before the final vote in early June in Puerto Rico. Obama leads Clinton in popular votes and among committed delegates to the Democratic Convention, where the nominee will be chosen in late August. Neither candidate is expected to have enough delegates to wrap up the nomination before the convention.
Either Obama or Clinton will face Republican John McCain, senator from Arizona, in the presidential election on November 4. The new president takes office on January 20.