Clinton Statement on Troop Withdrawal "Pause"

From the Clinton campaign:

"I want to say one other thing, and that is, I was very disheartened to hear Secretary Gates, as reported today, suggest that the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq would not continue at the pace that had been expected.

“This means that we will have as many troops in Iraq in the summer of 2008 as we had at the beginning of 2007. I continue to call on the President to end the war he started, to take responsibly for bringing our young men and women home. I have said repeatedly that there is no military solution, and it's time for the American military to be relieved from the responsibility of refereeing the Iraqi Civil War. It is clear that in the absence of a military solution, which I think this announcement today obviously confirms, the Iraqi government will not take the steps that were expected and even demanded.

“The whole idea behind this so-called surge was to give the Iraqi government the space and time to make the tough decisions that only they can make for themselves and the future of their country. So I will continue to press hard, both in the Congress and on the campaign trail for this President to end this war before he leaves office.

“If that doesn't happen, then I will immediately, upon taking office, implement the plan that I have put forth to be able to start withdrawing our troops within 60 days, and make it very clear to the Iraqi government that they do not have a blank check. They have to begin to make the decisions that only they can make."