Feingold wants troops out of Iraq by end of 2006

US News reports that Sen. Russ Feingold will call Thursday for a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq by Dec. 31, 2006.

He had called in June for a timetable for withdrawal, but did not propose a specific date.

Craig Gilbert at Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has it, too, as does the Washington Post.

Excerpts from US News:

Feingold, who is exploring a run for the presidency in 2008, told U.S. News: "I believe I am the first senator [to set a deadline]. It says: Here is the date by which we ought to finish the mission." . . .

Feingold also said that many within his own party are afraid of demanding a withdrawal of troops from Iraq for fear of being branded unpatriotic or anti-military.
"I call what I am doing breaking the taboo," Feingold said. "The senators have been intimidated and are not talking about a timeframe. We have to make it safe to go in the water and discuss this. A person shouldn't be accused of not supporting troops just because we want some clarity on our mission in Iraq."

While Feingold is aware some will accuse him of playing into the hands of the insurgents and strengthening terrorism, he says the Iraq war has made America less and not more safe.

"The president's policy in Iraq has played into the hands of the terrorists," he said. "Iraq is now the principal training ground for terrorists."

While Feingold is proposing a deadline for American troop withdrawal, he says it can be a flexible deadline.

"It's a target date," he said. "If we believe we need a little more time we may have to continue [in Iraq].

Feingold will announce his deadline Thursday at a "listening session" in Marquette, Wis.

"The concern about the Iraq war is very, very deep," Feingold said. "What we have now is sort of directionless policy with no real sense of how this ends. A deadline will help us a great deal to stabilize the situation in Iraq."