Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich campaigns in Iowa today (Saturday), with stops planned in Denison, Des Moines and Sioux City. Kucinich says it’s time to bring home U.S. troops from Iraq, and get some UN troops into the region in their place. The stumbling bloc, he says, is the Bush administration’s position that it’d like U.N. help but still wants to control the mission, the occupation, the oil, and the reconstruction contracts — and he says if we’d respect the UN process instead, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Kucinich says if he’s elected president, he’d go to the United Nations with a resolution that turns over all administrative and security responsibilities. Kucinich says the United States would also give up control over Iraq’s oil resources, and reconstruction contracts.Kucinich says we can’t commit troops forever, and can’t commit American taxpayers either, citing the 87-billion-dollar request headed to Congress next week. Kucinich says he’s the only one of the candidates to offer a clear “exit strategy” from Iraq, and says his low rankings in polls have plenty of time to turn around before Iowa’s caucuses January 19th. Also crossing the state on the campaign trail this weekend is another presidential candidate, Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt.
