Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton says she would keep a small military presence in Iraq if elected president in 2008, but with reduced current troop levels not geared to provide security for Iraqis from sectarian violence.
“We would not be doing patrols,” Clinton told the New York Times. “We would not be kicking in doors. We would not be trying to insert ourselves in the middle between the various Shiite and Sunni factions. I do not think that’s a smart or achievable mission for American forces.”
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Clinton, who voted in 2002 to authorize the use of force in Iraq, is critical of the Bush administration's handling of the war, but some White House rivals question her positions.
Clinton says she would support a Democratic proposal under debate on the Senate floor, which would withdraw U.S. combat troops by March 2008.
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, another Democratic hopeful for the White House, has said that he might also keep a reduced level of troops in Iraq.
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