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Sen. Feingold: I'm Not 'Just an Anti-War Guy'
Sen. Russ Feingold, one of the first lawmakers to call for a timetable to withdraw troops from Iraq, argued on Thursday that it would be wrong to categorize him as an anti-war Democrat.
"I've never been anywhere near one-dimensional on these issues," Feingold said in an interview. "I think that I've become - I hope - a credible spokesman for a muscular view of anti-terrorist activity by the Democrats as well as the country. The fact is, I've never been just an anti-war guy."
Last year, Feingold urged the Bush administration to set a timetable to bring troops back from Iraq. This year, he teamed with Sen. John Kerry, the party's 2004 presidential nominee, on a proposal that would have required troops to leave Iraq by July of next year.
"It is time to tell the Iraqis that we have done what we can do militarily," the Wisconsin senator said during debate over that proposal, which failed on an 83-13 vote.
Feingold, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, contended in the interview that he's no pacifist.
"Absolutely not," he said. "I believe in the right of self-defense" - including the invasion of Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. "I believe what we did in Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with self-defense."
Story Continues Below Feingold's criticism of the Bush administration on Iraq and other issues has won him support among the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. But he said he sometimes make his audiences uncomfortable when he talks about the need to "drop bombs" on people like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, an al-Qaida leader in Iraq killed in a U.S. airstrike in June.
Feingold said he favors strengthening U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, where Taliban militants have stepped up attacks this year.
"To some extent, we gutted our capacity to finish the job in Afghanistan, and allowed the Taliban and others to come back in by putting too much emphasis on Iraq," Feingold said.
White House spokesman Alex Conant said the U.S. can fight in Iraq and Afghanistan at the same time.
© 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Editor's note:
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