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September 8, 2006

Reed on Iraq: 'We have to follow through' / Photo

Journal photo / Bob Thayer
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed speaks with Hala Ghoname, 21, center, who is from Egypt and is now a junior at the Roger Williams University, and Nora Leblanc, 23, a senior born in Belize, who were both part of the panel today.

BRISTOL -- U.S. Sen. Jack Reed visited the campus of Rogers Williams University this afternoon to participate in a panel discussion on Iraq with students.

The Rhode Island Democrat gave some introductory remarks based on his experiences on the Senate Armed Services Committee and his eight visits to Iraq since the outset of the war in 2003.

He has been a frequent critic of President Bush's handling of the war and repeated some of those themes before an audience of nearly 200 students, faculty and staff.

Regardless of whether the United States should have gone to war, and how it conducted the war, Reed said, "We are there.''

"If we are going to stabilize the country we have to follow through not just with a military presence but with the kind of developmental assistance and support that is essential to provide the Iraqis the capability to function as a democracy or at least as a stable secure soverign nation,'' he said.

Reed also talked about the greater Middle East, including the tensions fueled in the region by the lack of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The solution to America's troubles in the region, including the growing threat of Iran, rests with diplomacy, he said.

"One of the disappointing aspects of the last several years is the lack of any real engagement by the administration, particularly when it comes to issues between the state of Israel and the Palestinian authority ... It's left us not well positioned to renew the diplomacy that is so necessary now.''

-- Journal staff writer Richard Salit

Posted by Steve Peoples  at 6:42 PM | Permalink

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