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Hillary's Secret Weapon: Dick Cheney

by Ryan Sager
Wed, 1 Aug 2007 at 1:29 PM
updated Wed, 1 Aug 2007 at 1:31 PM

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Hillary Clinton has sent out an appeal to her Internet supporters – with Dick Cheney as the bait.

"I couldn't care less what Dick Cheney says about me," the Clinton missive says, "But when he plays politics with the lives of our troops, you had better be sure I'm going to respond. And I know that you want to respond too."

The full letter is after the jump...

The letter:

Are you reinforcing enemy propaganda? Dick Cheney thinks so. I'm going to send a letter to President Bush, and I want your name to be on it. Join me in calling on him to plan for the safe withdrawal of our troops.

Dear Friend,

More than 150,000 of our brave men and women are in a war zone, and Dick Cheney doesn't think Congress should know about how we are planning to bring them home.

Well I do, and I won't stop putting pressure on this administration until I know they have a plan to bring our troops home safely.

But it's not just that Cheney doesn't think Congress should have oversight -- he thinks those of us who do are "reinforcing enemy propaganda."

It is time to find out exactly where the Bush administration stands on this issue. I'm going to send a letter to President Bush, and I want your name to be on it. Join me in calling on him to plan for the safe withdrawal of our troops.

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/iraq

Here's the whole story. Back in May, concerned about the administration's failure to plan in Iraq, I sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates asking him to provide Congress with briefings of contingency plans for withdrawal -- or an explanation of why no such plans exist.

Two weeks ago, Under Secretary of Defense Eric Edelman responded in a letter that said discussing plans for withdrawal "reinforces enemy propaganda." It was an outrageous response -- and a dangerous one. Planning for withdrawal isn't just common sense. It is vital to ensuring our troops return home safe.

Secretary Gates quickly disavowed Edelman's letter, saying he encouraged Congressional oversight and promising to respond to my original inquiry.

But in an interview with Larry King that aired last night on CNN, Vice President Cheney said he agreed with Edelman's assertion that Congress asking the Pentagon to plan for our troops' safe return "reinforces enemy propaganda."

So which is it, President Bush? Do you support the safe return of troops from Iraq, or are you going to continue to play politics with their lives?

Let's ask him together:

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/iraq

I couldn't care less what Dick Cheney says about me. But when he plays politics with the lives of our troops, you had better be sure I'm going to respond. And I know that you want to respond too.

Thank you for joining me in calling on President Bush to plan for the safe return of our troops from Iraq, and for the support you show me every day.

Sincerely,
Hillary
Hillary Rodham Clinton

And, hey, is the "Rodham" back in the Democratic primary? I'd missed that.

Related Topics: Dem Primary

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