ROTFLMAO

Oooh, now Lieberman is after me, I'm peeing
my pants.

Lieberman Jabs at Rumsfeld, Saying Military Needs a Change

By JENNIFER MEDINA
Published: August 21, 2006

HARTFORD, Aug. 20 — Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, facing continued criticism from many in the Democratic Party because of his support for the war in Iraq, leveled his most pointed criticism yet at the Pentagon during a television interview on Sunday, calling for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Ned Lamont, who defeated Mr. Lieberman in the Democratic primary this month, said later that he had advocated that stance for months, and he questioned the timing of the senator’s criticism.

With the nation profoundly divided over the war, the men sought to hone their positions in increasingly pointed remarks.

“I think it’s still time for new leadership at the Pentagon,” Mr. Lieberman said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “With all respect to Don Rumsfeld, who has done a grueling job for six years, we would benefit from new leadership to work with our military in Iraq.”

Mr. Lamont, in an interview at a campaign stop in New Britain, said that while Mr. Rumsfeld’s resignation would be “absolutely necessary” for a “fresh strategy” in Iraq, it would do little to quiet the increasing violence.

“I think every day that we’re there the situation is getting worse,” Mr. Lamont said. “The best hope for us to change course is to have Iraqis step up and replace American frontline personnel and do that within the next year.”

Mr. Lieberman has repeatedly criticized calls by Mr. Lamont and other Democrats for a timeline for troop withdrawal.

On Sunday, he said that the situation in Iraq had worsened in the past six months but that setting a deadline would be a “disaster.”

“There is still hope in Iraq, and as long as there is, we cannot just pick up and walk away and leave them to the sure disaster that would follow and would compromise our security in the war on terrorism,” Mr. Lieberman said.

Shortly after losing the primary, Mr. Lieberman said that if the United States were to withdraw troops by a specific date, it would be seen as a victory for terrorists.

While he stands by his vote to authorize the war in Iraq, in recent weeks he has sought to clarify his views, saying he has been critical all along of the Bush administration’s handling of the war.

Previously, Mr. Lieberman had been on both sides of the issue of Mr. Rumsfeld’s resignation. During a television interview in October 2003, when he was running for the Democratic nomination for president, he said it was the president’s prerogative to ask for Mr. Rumsfeld’s resignation, and added that he would do so if he were president. But earlier this year, when several retired generals urged Mr. Rumsfeld to resign, Mr. Lieberman did not back such an ouster.

Asked about Mr. Lieberman’s comments Sunday, Lt. Col. Gary Keck, a Pentagon spokesman, said Mr. Rumsfeld “serves at the pleasure of the president and has repeatedly made it known that he does not get involved in political discussions of this type.”

Mr. Lieberman also said on Sunday that he would support an “international crisis conference” on the war in Iraq, convened with leaders from the United States, Europe and Arab countries.

Mr. Lamont said such a conference would be “welcome and long overdue” but would be difficult without committing to troop withdrawal.

“There are no good choices, because President Bush rushed us into this war,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s a political solution, and other governments have to lend their support to help pacify the region, but that’s much more difficult when you have an American face on this war for so long

Please. Who is he kidding?