The Lawton Constitution

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Lieberman said the nation must address security issues for Americans in Iraq, and that may mean sending in more troops.

The Connecticut senator was in the Lawton area Tuesday to be keynote speaker for the Veterans Day program at the Fort Sill National Cemetery and to attend a Democratic fund-raiser, before heading to Oklahoma City and Norman to address veterans and supporters.

In an interview after the Veterans Day program, Lieberman said he agrees with those who say the country is not doing enough to address security concerns in Iraq.

"I don’t believe that we have enough troops there. And, they’re stretched thin," Lieberman said. "It’s unfortunate that the administration has not been able to bring more foreign troops in to stand with us. It’s good that they’re training Iraqis to play a larger role in security. That’s important."

But, in the short term, Lieberman said he agrees with Arizona Sen. John McCain: more troops are necessary.

"This administration has got to think very seriously about sending more American troops over there now. And, in the short term, to protect the troops that are there now, getting shot at every day," he said.

Lieberman said the administration also must convince more countries to get involved in Iraq.

"It’s not a day, on Veterans Day, for a lot of partisan disagreement, but it’s well known that we haven’t taken the steps to bring in the rest of the world to help us," he said.

Lieberman said before the U.S. can progress to the point of bringing its troops home, it should bring in the United Nations to operate the civilian aspect of Iraq’s reconstruction. He said the nation also must convince its allies, particularly NATO, to stand with us militarily "to stop this awful evil alliance." Finally, the U.S. must help Iraq adopt a constitution and elect a government of its own.

"The sooner we do that and the sooner we defeat the terrorists, the sooner we’ll be able to get our troops home," he said. "I think we’ve learned you can’t set a deadline, because if you do that, you’re going to jeopardize people’s lives, including the lives of our military.

"What you’ve got to do is set a mission goal. And the goal is for security to be established in Iraq and for Iraq’s government to be up and running."

Touching on the theme of Veterans Day, Lieberman said people have extremely different views on the war.

"We’re involved in a military action that is controversial," he said. "I supported the war in Iraq. And, I know others have very passionate views against it."

However, Lieberman said everyone should agree they won’t take out their political differences on the men and women serving in the military.

"We’ve got to be grateful to those troops, to honor them, to support them, so that they can come home as soon as possible," he said, echoing a theme he offered during his Veterans Day speech.

He said the war is very real to Oklahomans, noting Fort Sill has lost 17 soldiers in the war on terrorism, including six who died in a Chinook helicopter crash.

"It reminds us of the gratitude we must feel," he said, noting it has been a while since the nation was involved in "this type of combat" on Veterans Day.

Touching on other issues, Lieberman said Congress has been closely watching the $87 billion package President Bush sought to rebuilt Iraq and Afghanistan. He said Congress has set up a special investigative unit within the appropriations bill, to actively monitor the way funds are spent "and to make sure America’s taxpayers aren’t being taken advantage of."

He also admits he is concerned about some Justice Department policies and some provisions in the USA Patriot Act. That act, among other things, greatly expanded the government’s search and surveillance powers.

"We have always, over our history - sometimes perfectly, other times not so perfectly - protected our security and also maintained our liberty," he said, noting some Patriot Act provisions are being challenged in court, while some may be repealed by Congress and still others will expire in 2005.

"We’ve got to be able to protect our security and our liberties," Lieberman said. "We’ve got to be able to protect our security without losing our liberties or our allies."