Matthews repeated false claim that Clinton called for "permanent" U.S. presence in Iraq

http://mediamatters.org/items/200704240007

On the April 23 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews acknowledged that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) "doesn't use the term 'permanent bases' " to describe her support for a continuing U.S. military presence in Iraq, but nevertheless repeated his false claim that Clinton has called for keeping troops in Iraq "permanently." Matthews asked: "Why is she so sensitive every time I say she wants to keep a permanent base there? What's the difference between keeping forces there permanently ... and having a permanent base? Is there a distinction without a difference here?" Matthews also falsely claimed that a March 15 New York Times article supported his account of Clinton's position.

As noted in the March 15 article, Clinton explained in a lengthy March 13 interview with the Times that she would "keep a reduced military force there to fight Al Qaeda, deter Iranian aggression, protect the Kurds and possibly support the Iraqi military" as part of her troop-withdrawal plan. Clinton did not, in the Times interview or elsewhere, say she wanted to keep U.S. troops in Iraq "permanently."

Moreover, Clinton's proposal for a limited number of troops to remain in Iraq after a substantial withdrawal is similar to the provision included in the Democratic conference report on the Iraq war spending bill expected to be voted on in the House and Senate this week. On April 23, CQ.com reported: "The conference report would allow some U.S. troops to remain in Iraq to protect U.S. personnel and infrastructure, train and equip Iraqi troops, and engage in targeted counterterrorism operations -- exemptions that were included in both the House and Senate versions of the bill."

Clinton's position is also consistent with the recent Democratic Senate resolution on troop withdrawal, which, as The New York Times reported on March 16, "would have redefined the United States mission in Iraq and set a goal of withdrawing American combat troops by March 31, 2008, except for a 'limited number' focused on counterterrorism, training and equipping Iraqi forces, and protecting American and allied personnel." Clinton voted for the binding resolution on March 15, which was defeated 48-50, largely along party lines. Clinton's own withdrawal proposal, introduced February 16, provides for a "limited presence" of U.S. troops without specifying number or duration, similar to the Senate resolution. In January, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) introduced legislation that "allows for a limited number of U.S. troops to remain in Iraq as basic force protection, to engage in counter-terrorism and to continue the training of Iraqi security forces."