Democratic nominee John Kerry announced in August 2004 a goal to reduce the 138,000 US troops stationed in Iraq within eight months of taking office, proposing to do it by accelerating the training of Iraqi security forces and securing broader international participation.
The Bush administration also promised eventual withdrawal but refused to attach a date to it. President Bush warned that a rapid pullout would produce chaos, and said US forces would remain until Iraq had established a democratic government and its own military was ready to take over.
A Gallup survey found voters nearly evenly split on which candidate could better manage Iraq, though 42 percent believed Bush had a clear plan going forward, compared with 38 percent for Kerry. A majority disapproved of Bush's conduct of the war, and nearly half regarded the March 2003 invasion as a mistake.
Kerry's standing on the issue was complicated by his 2002 Senate vote to authorize force against Saddam Hussein. When he acknowledged he would cast the same vote again even with hindsight, Bush called it proof the invasion had been correct. Kerry's advisers argued the real failing was going to war without allied support or a plan for what followed. Senior foreign policy aide James Rubin added that any troop reduction would slow if conditions inside Iraq deteriorated.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in August 2004, in its own words.