MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Iraq war becoming political liability in US

The White House said Wednesday that United States will not raise the “white flag” in Iraq and “will not fall short of promises” insisting any withdrawal will only take place once “freedom and democracy” are strongly established.

White House spokesperson Tony Snow statements follow the defeat in the Democrat Connecticut primary of Senator Joe Lieberman, a strong supporter of the US involvement in Iraq.

The defeat of Senator Lieberman, who was Al Gore's running mate in the 2000 presidential ticket, has been interpreted by political analysts as the electorate's reaction to the Iraq conflict.

"For some Democrats the crucial question today is abandoning Iraq", said Snow adding that the Connecticut primary shows that "currently there's a significant political debate" and the Democrats are hostage to the "extreme left of the party".

Snow accused the Democrat party of targeting an unconditional withdrawal from Iraq and ratified that the President Bush administration will "not leave a power vacuum in Iraq which will only encourage terrorists from all over the world".

Lieberman, defeated by newcomer Ned Lamont, has been a senator for 18 years but has been harshly criticised in his home state for his support for the Iraq war, and his perceived closeness to Republican President George W Bush.

In Tuesday's primary, Democratic voters were asked to decide which candidate would stand for the party in November's elections for the Senate and House of Representatives. With most of the votes counted, results showed Mr Lamont - founder of a cable television company and a political novice, to have won with 52% compared to Mr Lieberman's 48%.

His defeat sent a message to politicians of all colours that Iraq is becoming a political liability.

However Mr Lieberman wasted no time in filing a petition to run as an independent next November. His petition received 18,000 signatures, more than double the minimum of 7,500, and the new party for his candidacy will be called Connecticut for Lieberman.

"I'll always take the calls of friends, but my mind is made up. I'm going forward. I'm going forward because I'm fed up with all the partisanship in Washington that stops us getting anything done" Mr Lieberman told the television Today show in Washington. Asked if there was anyone who could dissuade him, he said: "Respectfully no. I'm committed to this campaign".

Meanwhile Senate Democrat leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, chairman of the party's Senate campaign committee, pledged their full support for Mr Lamont.

In a statement on the campaign committee website, they said: "The Democratic voters of Connecticut have spoken... Congratulations to Ned on his victory and on a race well run. "Joe Lieberman has been an effective Democratic senator... But the perception was that he was too close to George Bush and this election was, in many respects, a referendum on the president more than anything else".

If the signatures on Mr Lieberman's petition for candidacy are approved, it sets up a three-way race with Mr Lamont and the Republican candidate Alan Schlesinger.