Richardson on Limited Withdrawl From Iraq: “Who Are The Poor Souls You Are Going To Leave Behind?”

NR intern Justin P. Williams sends in this report from Bill Richardson’s appearance at the Take Back America conference:

“A regional crisis is worthy of military intervention. A true threat to our country’s security is worthy of war. But a struggle between a country’s warring factions, where both sides hate the U.S., is not worthy of one more loss of American life,” Richardson said. 
Richardson pointed out that Congressional Democrats have repeatedly pushed timetable legislation with loopholes attached that allow the president to keep troops in Iraq almost indefinitely. He said that keeping troops in Iraq will not improve the region, but lead to more American casualties. 
“There is not a single sign that Iraq is improving. To the contrary, every indication is that it is getting worse, and a smaller force will do nothing to change that,” Richardson said. “How many Americans must die before we leave an Iraq that will be no better than it is today? And in a war where American troops are the number one target, who are the poor souls you are going to leave behind. We need to bring them all home.”

Interesting contrast with Hillary’s comments from earlier today, justifying keeping a number of troops in Iraq as a residual force.