Kleeb: Iraqis must step up now

By DON WALTON / Lincoln Journal Star

Democratic Senate nominee Scott Kleeb said Friday it's time to "start signaling" the United States is ready to begin withdrawing combat troops from Iraq.

No precipitate withdrawal and no timelines, Kleeb said.

But Iraqis need to understand it's time for them to take responsibility for their own country by achieving the benchmarks that define progress in stabilizing and securing their future.

"We need to signal we are not going to have a long-term presence," Kleeb said. "We are not going to have permanent bases. We are going to begin drawing our forces down."

The United States has achieved "tremendous military success," Kleeb said. "There's no question about that. Our soldiers have performed heroic work."

But Gen. David Petraeus was "right in declaring there will be no military solution," Kleeb said. Peace and stability in Iraq can be achieved only though diplomatic efforts and Iraqi reconciliation and power-sharing, he said.

Kleeb discussed his views on Iraq during a wide-ranging interview in Lincoln on a number of issues.

Iraq needs to "begin to pay for its own reconstruction" with its windfall oil revenues, he said, and Iraqis must come to realize "the future of the country ultimately is in their own hands."

The best way to support U.S. troops is to recognize and honor "their gallant work" and their military success, Kleeb said, and then provide them the benefits they have earned.

That includes enactment of the proposed new GI Bill that extends college education benefits to all post 9/11 veterans, he said.

"Staying the course is a talking point, not a strategy," Kleeb said.

Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.