News
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Temple Israel Debate Centers on Iraq
It was an overflow crowd with many standing or sitting on the floor at tonight’s 4th Congressional District candidates debate at Temple Israel. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Emily Hamilton Laux for WestportNow.com
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Tonight’s debate between the candidates for the 4th Congressional District at Westport’s Temple Israel quickly turned to the subject of Iraq.
The debate included the two major party candidates—Republican incumbent Christopher Shays and Democrat challenger Diane Farrell—but also the two minor party candidates. Libertarian Philip Maymin and Green Party candidate Richard Duffee were present.
While the first question was about the economy, the discussion quickly became one about Iraq.
Farrell, Westport’s former first selectwoman, said there is a spending problem in Congress, and it is Iraq.
Each day $250 million is spent on Iraq, she said, and there is no plan to withdraw.
There need to be “pay as you go” rules like there was under Bill Clinton’s administration, she said, and it would help begin building a surplus.
Shays, who has spent 19 years representing the district, said Farrell isn’t suggesting that troops be withdrawn immediately, so the money would still be spent.
He wants a time-line, he said, where there are specific deadlines on when operations are handed over to Iraqis and troops are withdrawn.
Both sides in Iraq, he said, also need to be put into a room together to negotiate such things like oil rights.
“Two-thirds of the country want us out and two-thirds want us to stay,” he said. “They have a big fear we’ll leave before they can run their own country. We got in together and not we need to get out together.”
Farrell said she believes there should be negotiations between the different parties in Iraq, and it should be led by a third-party that’s not from the United States.
“It’s better to yell at each other than shoot each other,” she said.
Congress needs to have more oversight on the war in Iraq, Farrell said.
Additionally, Farrell said in a previous debate Shays said there was no torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and that it was a sex ring.
“It was torture,” she said. “It hurt our standing in the world. He needs to admit it was torture. It is the only way to build our credibility.”
Shays said any abuse against prisoners is outrageous.
He first saw two hours of film from the prison, and it “was just gross” and was filled with sex.
“It is abuse and it was a mistake to say it wasn’t,’ he said. He added, “Did I make a mistake? Yes, I did. You got me, Diane. You did.”
The abuses at the prison, he said, set the Arab world on fire and caused the deaths of many people.
Later, Farrell said, “I accept your apology and hope you are saying Abu Ghraib was torture.”
Maymim said he is the only candidate who wouldn’t have gone into Iraq under any condition.
He too thinks there should be a deadline for withdrawal, he said, and it should be July 4, 2007.
It sends a message to the insurgents that the Americans are leaving, he said, so new insurgents would want to join the cause to get rid of the Americans.
It also sends the message that Americans will leave on their own terms, he said.
Tonight’s debate was one of 11 throughout the district. The next one is scheduled for Tuesday at Wilton High School Clune Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m.
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