U.S. admiral: Let military plan Iraq exit

WASHINGTON, July 16 (UPI) -- A retired Navy vice admiral said Friday the U.S. armed forces, not Congress, should plan a withdrawal from Iraq.

Vice Adm. Michael C. Colley, retired, who serves as an at-large member on the board of directors of the Libertarian Party, was reacting to the measure passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week mandating a withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq by April 2008. President George W. Bush is expected to veto the measure.

"It's a wrongheaded decision; plain and simple," Colley said. "It is inappropriate for Congress to tell the military how to manage a war. We ought to be getting out of Iraq completely by following a plan our commanders in the field construct, not a plan made by politicians."

"It's not Congress' job to play 'armchair general,'" the admiral said. "Instead of dictating to the military how to conduct a withdrawal, Congress should instead apply monetary pressure on the president. Leave the money to Congress, and the withdrawal to our generals. The military knows best how to run the military."

The Libertarian Party describes itself as the third largest political party in the United States. It advocates a non-interventionist foreign policy, and has constantly opposed the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. The LP said it "advocates the immediate start of a safe withdrawal of (U.S.) troops from the country."