Farrell: Shays still backs Bush on Iraq

By Mark Ginocchio
Staff Writer

September 22, 2006

FAIRFIELD -- ÊDemocratic challenger Diane Farrell says U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays supports the war in Iraq and the Bush administration as much as he always has, despite recent statements by the incumbent that he would consider setting a timetable for troop withdrawal.

Shays' comments after returning from his 14th trip to Iraq last month are intended to confuse voters into thinking he is changing his position on the war, Farrell said yesterday.

"The 14th time Chris came back from Iraq he started to use different language, vague language," Farrell said during a news conference at Sacred Heart University. "Language designed to confuse people about his position. Language designed to rewrite history."

After Ned Lamont, an anti-war candidate, defeated incumbent U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman in the Democratic primary last month, Shays realized his support of the war was out-of-touch with voters in the 4th Congressional District, she said. Mentioning the word "timetable" has made it appear he is changing his position on the war, Farrell said.

"Chris still won't demand an exit strategy from the administration," she said at the event, sponsored by the College Democrats at Sacred Heart. "Don't let the rhetoric confuse you. Chris is still in favor of this war, just as he's always been."

Shays, R-Bridgeport, told reporters last month he would consider a timeline to bring troops home to serve as an incentive to warring Iraqi factions to reconcile their differences.

But the military would not "leave Iraq before we should," Shays said. Since the news conference, he also has said he still supports the Bush administration's mission and suggested the president had a secret exit strategy but "decided they would rather have you think they don't have a plan, than a plan that doesn't work."

"Is this the best way to run a war?" Farrell asked yesterday.

Shays' campaign manager, Michael Sohn, said Farrell's speech was "partisan, negative rhetoric" that offers no solutions. "Christopher looks forward to presenting his views to the students at Sacred Heart University and answering their questions about the issues and the political process," Sohn said.

Sacred Heart officials said they were trying to host as many politicians as possible before Election Day.

Farrell reiterated her support of a "political solution" to Iraq, rather than a military one. There needs to be a concerted diplomatic effort to bring warring parties to the table to negotiate a ceasefire, she added.

"A timetable is not a solution," she said.

Farrell repeated her call for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation.

While Shays also has endorsed a political solution, Farrell said the biggest difference between the two candidates is she never supported the war in the first place, whereas Shays did back the invasion.

The district's two minor-party candidates have criticized Shays and Farrell for not outlining a clear timeline for withdrawal.

Libertarian Phil Maymin, a Greenwich hedge fund founder, supports withdrawal by July 4, 2007, and Green Party candidate Richard Duffee of Stamford has called for an immediate withdrawal.