Clinton Camp Hedges, Then Backpedals, On Troop Withdrawal

Sam Stein, Huffington Post

Ever since former aide Samantha Power admitted to the BBC that Sen. Barack Obama's Iraq withdrawal plan could change depending on conditions on the ground, the Clinton campaign has been unrelenting in its criticism.

"Out campaigning Senator Obama tells voters that as president he'd withdraw combat brigades from Iraq within 16 months, but one of his top foreign policy advisers told a different story," Sen. Clinton herself declared in a speech today. "Giving speeches alone won't end the war and making campaign promises you might not keep certainly won't end it. In the end, the true test is not the speeches a president delivers, it's whether the president delivers on the speeches."

On a conference call later that day, however, aides to the New York senator fumbled a bit, giving the impression that their Iraq plans could also change depending on circumstance -- and then abruptly back-peddling.

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