TALKING POLITICS Whitehouse dodges debate on Iraq (for now) BY IAN DONNIS

After months of simmering domestic doubts among about the war in Iraq, US Representative John Murtha’s recent call for a phased withdrawal of American troops crystallized a heightened level of public debate. Yet despite the significance of the war and everything that it represents, US Senate candidate Sheldon Whitehouse has remained unwilling to schedule a debate about it with Matt Brown, his leading Democratic rival.

In an e-mail earlier this week, Mindy Myers, Whitehouse’s campaign manager wrote, "Sheldon looks forward to debating Matt Brown and Carl Sheeler on Iraq, as well as other major issues of the campaign. We’ll work out the logistics and timing of the debates next year as has been done in past campaigns."

This lack of enthusiasm for discussing the war sooner, rather than later, likely reflects the Whitehouse camp’s portrayal of itself as the frontrunner in the three-way Democratic primary for the seat held by US Senator Lincoln Chafee. For his part, Brown, who called on President George W. Bush in August to set a timetable for withdrawing American forces, seemed to emphasize the issue, at least in part, to draw a distinction between himself and Whitehouse, who has a lengthier resume of government experience.

Still, given the myriad of issues raised by the war and their importance, it seems perfectly reasonable for the Brown campaign to take Whitehouse to task for declining invitations to debate this month or in January. As Brown spokesman Matt Burgess says, "The people of Rhode Island really need to know where every candidate stands, whether it’s an election year of not. It’s disappointing that Sheldon Whitehouse refuses to have a discussion about this, about withdrawing the troops and the war in Iraq."

In a November 29 statement, Whitehouse called on Bush to "acknowledge that his policies for the war in Iraq have been misguided and flawed. But most importantly, the president must send the signal to Iraqi forces that we are in withdrawal mode, that our timeframe is rapid, and that Iraq must take responsibility for its own security. I have long argued for a rapid and responsible withdrawal of our troops from Iraq . . . I believe that we should be redeployed out of Iraq by the end of 2006 — and possibly sooner if circumstances permit."

Citing previous statements, however, the Brown campaign says Whitehouse flipped his position on the war last month on the same day that his campaign released an internal campaign poll. In a story published November 28 in the Providence Journal, for example, Whitehouse said that while the initial decision to invade Iraq was wrong, "it would also be wrong for US forces to leave too rapidly or on a fixed schedule."

Brown, meanwhile, has declined to debate the war in Iraq solely with Sheeler, the only veteran among the five Democratic and Republican Senate candidates, who would no doubt welcome the exposure for his low-budget outsider campaign.