Allen, Collins differ on strategy for Iraq

PORTLAND – Democratic Rep. Tom Allen supports a House resolution to remove U.S. troops from Iraq by year’s end, while support is growing in the Senate for a resolution sponsored by Republican Sen. Susan Collins that opposes a surge of troops but does not set a timetable for their withdrawal from Iraq.

The different approaches come as Allen considers a run for Collins’ seat in the 2008 election. Allen reiterated Thursday that he’s considering a run against Collins, but said his position on Iraq doesn’t have anything to do with next year’s election.

“Iraq is a lot bigger than any race,” Allen said.

Allen said he joined a resolution Thursday from Rep. David Price, D-N.C., that calls for troop withdrawal to make his position on Iraq perfectly clear. The bill also would prohibit permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq and calls for a regional conference of Iraq’s neighbors to help stop the violence.

Allen disagrees with President Bush’s argument that setting dates for the troops to come home would embolden insurgents in Iraq to hold out until the departure. Iraqi violence is primarily between the Shiite and Sunni sects, who will resist a political resolution as long as Americans remain in the country, Allen said.

“Objecting to the escalation in Iraq is important, but it’s not an exit strategy,” Allen said. “We rushed in without a plan for the occupation. We now need a plan to end the mission.”

In the Senate, Collins is co-sponsoring a resolution with fellow Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia that opposes Bush’s troop surge plan and urges him to consider other options.

It says the Senate “disagrees” with the plan to send more troops to Iraq and urges the president to “consider all options and alternatives.”

The Warner resolution was revised Wednesday to draw more support from a group of mostly Democratic senators, but including Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, who were backing a separate proposal written by Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del.

“My goal all along has been to craft a resolution that would be able to garner bipartisan support and send the strongest possible message to the president,” said Collins. “Our leadership, obviously, has been aggressive in urging members to not sign on.”