No Fast U.S. Shift on Iraq if Democrats Win -Dean

Tweet WASHINGTON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Even if Democrats win control of Congress in elections next week, an immediate change of course in Iraq policy is unlikely, the party's chairman said on Sunday.

Some Democrats have called for a withdrawal timetable, which Bush rejects.Countering Republican campaign charges that Democrats would "cut and run" from Iraq, chairman Howard Dean said the party did not believe there should be a sudden pullout of all U.S. troops.

"The president will still be in charge of foreign policy and the military ... I don't imagine we're going to be able to force the president to reverse his course," he told the CBS "Face the Nation" program.

"But we will put some pressure on him to have some benchmarks, some timetables and a real plan other than stay the course," he added.

With control of the U.S. Congress at stake in the Nov. 7 elections and sectarian violence raging in Iraq, Democrats and some Republicans have urged U.S. President George W. Bush to change his strategy on the war.

Congress will have some influence on Iraq policy after establishing the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, with Bush's approval. The commission, co-chaired by former secretary of state James Baker, is assessing the war and will release its policy recommendations after election day.

Dean said a small U.S. force should be left somewhere near Iraq to help prevent the establishment of a terrorist haven in the region.

"We will need to leave a force of special-operations folks in the Middle East, not in Iraq but on the periphery of Iraq, so we can deal with terrorism in a timely manner.

"We don't believe now we should suddenly pull everybody out...," he said.

Found on Antiwar.com