Bill Richardson and the Troops in Iraq

Once again, a Democrat presidential candidate disses the troops, blaming them for causing instability in Iraq.

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson said Wednesday that the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq has contributed to the sectarian violence rather than bringing stability to the war-torn nation.

"There's no question there's tribal and ethnic hatreds," Richardson told The Associated Press. "But when those tribal and ethnic hatreds are fueled by American policy of hostility, then you make the situation worse."

In an hourlong interview with AP editors and reporters, the New Mexico governor argued that all combat and noncombat troops should be removed from Iraq because their presence is only contributing to violence.

"It's not a guarantee of success, my plan, but at least it's stability," Richardson said.

Stability?

It's positively idiotic for Richardson to state that the sudden withdrawal of "ALL COMBAT AND NONCOMBAT" American troops from Iraq would mean stability.

Did he forget that Iran declared it was poised to "fill the vacuum" if Democrats' Iraq policies would come to pass?

Yeah, that sounds really stable.

Either Richardson is a shameless panderer to the fringe Dem base or he's nuts. Either way, it's bad.