TALKING POLITICS Brown calls for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq BY IAN DONNIS

In a move that could distinguish him somewhat from fellow Democratic Senate candidate Sheldon Whitehouse, Matthew A. Brown has called for President Bush to set a timetable to start withdrawing US troops from Iraq in six months. Brown’s declaration — which comes as both Republicans and Democrats seem perplexed about the domestic political consequences of the increasingly unpopular war — also affords an opportunity for the 35-year-old secretary of state to focus criticism on President Bush’s leadership.

"President Bush has failed to have a plan every step of the way in this war and has been unaccountable to the American public on the execution of the war," Brown says. By comparison, he says, the 138,000 US troops in Iraq, including more than 600 Rhode Islanders, "have done every assignment they’ve been asked to do. We ought to now, in the coming months, be able to finish the job. We ought to be able to train enough Iraqi forces so that we can start bringing these [American] troops home." Brown notes that America’s involvement in World War I, and its mobilization and initial attacks in World War II, took place in about the same amount of time that the country has been involved in the war in Iraq.

Even some Democrats critical of Bush’s handling of the war, like US Senator Jack Reed, have maintained that more American troops are necessary to stabilize Iraq. For his part, the president — after famously declaring, "Mission accomplished," in spring 2004 — has steadily endorsed the ongoing US presence in Iraq. But as the New York Times recently reported, Republicans cite a series of events, including Cindy Sheehan’s protest at Bush’s Texas ranch, the missed deadline for drafting an Iraqi constitution, and an increase in casualties among reservists, in perceiving "what they said could be a lasting shift in public attitudes against the war."

On Wednesday, Brown announced the posting of a petition on his campaign Web site "to hold President Bush accountable on Iraq," and he called on every USSenate candidate in Rhode Island to sign it.Following withdrawal in six months, he says, the USshould continue to provide training and assistance to Iraqi forces.

Whitehouse spokesman Mike Guilfoyle says Whitehouse "believes there should be a rapid and responsible withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. Such planning should be happening now . . . so that sensitive information is not revealed prematurely, benefiting the insurgents and risking additional US casualties. In the meantime, he believes there should be intense pressure on the Iraqi government to meet rapid benchmarks toward self-governance and responsibility for their own security."

Stephen Hourahan, a spokesman for US Senator Lincoln Chafee, says Chafee was on vacation, so he could not be asked about his view of the timing for withdrawal. Noting, though, that Chafee was the only Senate Republican to vote against the war, Hourahan says, "I know the senator has had serious questions about the premise of the war, weapons of mass destruction, and he is very clearly concerned about what’s going on."