Allen, Webb Quarrel Over War in Iraq, Bush Policies
Comments on Race, Gender Resurface in TV Appearance

By Michael D. Shear and Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 18, 2006

Virginia's U.S. Senate candidates clashed on national television yesterday over the war in Iraq and President Bush's leadership, offering the sharpest contrast yet in a campaign that has become central to the partisan struggle for control of Congress this fall.

Appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press," Republican Sen. George Allen and Democratic challenger James Webb also confronted issues of race and gender and debated the use of torture in the war on terror. But the exchange largely centered on a controversial war that has become the defining issue of the Nov. 7 midterm elections.

Webb, a decorated Marine and former Navy Secretary, called the Iraq war an "incredible strategic blunder of historic proportions" and said he has lost confidence in Bush's foreign policy. He repeatedly reminded viewers that neither Bush nor Allen, a former governor, had served in combat.

"Very few people who have brought us this war have served, and very, very few of the children of these people who have brought us this war have served," said Webb, whose Marine son began a tour in Iraq this month.

Allen steadfastly defended Bush's Middle East policies, telling moderator Tim Russert that "staying the course" in Iraq means "that we don't tuck tail and run, that we don't retreat, that we don't surrender." Asked whether more U.S. troops should be sent, Allen said, "We're going to need to do what it takes to succeed."

The outcome of Virginia's contest could be critical to GOP hopes of retaining control of the Senate in a year when anger toward incumbents -- fueled in part by the Iraq war -- is tangible.

Webb, a former Republican and early critic of the war, was persuaded to challenge Allen by national Democrats and activists who believed his military background would make him the ideal candidate to tap into antiwar sentiment.

But questions about character -- including Allen's comment to a Webb campaign volunteer and allegations about Webb's view of women in combat -- have dominated a race that polls indicate has tightened.

Russert devoted his entire Sunday show to the Virginia debate and focused nearly a half-hour on the Iraq war. He grilled Allen repeatedly on the vote he and other lawmakers made authorizing the president to go to war.

"If you knew Saddam did not have weapons of mass destruction, was it still worth going to war?" Russert asked.

"I stand by my vote," Allen said. "We had a choice whether to listen to the critics and do nothing and then have this world more dangerous if we were right."

Russert asked both candidates whether the $300 billion spent on the war in Iraq could have been better spent on homeland security and the war on terror.

"We have spent money on all those things," Allen said. "You can't be constantly second-guessing, Monday-morning quarterbacking."

Webb said the money would have been better spent on security. He criticized Allen and others in Congress for failing to ask tough questions about the ultimate effect of deposing Saddam Hussein.

"If we had the right people in the Senate, there would have been more questions asked," Webb said. "We didn't go into Iraq because of terrorism. We have terrorists in Iraq because we went in there."

Allen said the United States should continue to consolidate its forces into four large military bases in Iraq, a proposal Webb criticized.

Webb said the United States should begin moving troops to friendly Arab countries and seek the help of Iraq's neighbors, including Iran and Syria. That drew derision from Allen, who said to reporters after the debate that the United States should not be working with "sponsors of terrorism."

Allen also lashed out at Webb, accusing him of failing to support the first Iraq war. "Heck, the French were even in favor of military action in 1991," Allen said.

Webb responded aggressively, often returning to his experience as a Marine in Vietnam. Using a line from his son, Webb said, "George Allen didn't fight in Vietnam. Even the French fought in Vietnam."

The candidates also clashed over Bush's proposed interpretation of the Geneva Conventions' provisions on interrogating enemy prisoners. Webb sided with Virginia's other Republican senator, John W. Warner, who said the president's plan would be an invitation to other countries to reinterpret the Geneva rules if they ever held U.S. soldiers.

"I'm with Senator Warner on this," said Webb, saying Bush's view is dictated by "theorists who have never been on a battlefield, who have never put a uniform on . . . who have never had to worry about their troops and themselves possibly coming under enemy hands."

Allen declined to say how he will vote on the issue when it comes up in the Senate. But he said the United States needs to interrogate terrorism suspects effectively. "I don't want to stop these interrogations," he said. "I'm not for torture . . . but some of these techniques have been very helpful to us."

Russert devoted the second half of the show to character issues that have bedeviled both candidates in recent weeks.

His first target was Webb, who last week was assailed over an article he penned in 1979 that critics say was demeaning to women. Several female U.S. Naval Academy graduates said Webb's article arguing against women in combat helped lead to harassment against women at the school.

Webb repeated a statement he had made earlier in the week, in which he expressed regret "to the extent that my writing subjected women . . . to undue hardship." On the show, he said he regretted writing that the Naval Academy is "a horny woman's dream," adding that "if I were a, you know, a more mature individual, I wouldn't have written" that.

But he declined to go further, even after Russert said he had received a letter from one of the women indicating that Webb's statement was not good enough.

Russert then turned his attention to Allen, quizzing him on his opposition to allowing women as cadets at Virginia Military Institute and later turning to the senator's comments to a Webb volunteer of Indian descent on the campaign trail last month.

Russert aired the video of Allen calling Webb volunteer S.R. Sidarth "macaca" and of welcoming him "to the real world of Virginia."

Allen again apologized, calling the comments "a mistake." He said the word "macaca" was "just made up" and added, "There was no racial or ethnic intent to slur anyone."

Russert also asked Allen about having once displayed a Confederate flag and a noose. Allen said he had once seen the Confederate flag as a symbol of heritage and regional pride but now sees it as hateful.

"Through the years, I've learned and I've grown," he said.

The candidates will meet again today at a luncheon debate hosted by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce.

Russert closed the show on a light note, asking both men whether they thought their habit of chewing tobacco made them good role models for children.

Allen conceded that it probably did not. Webb noted that he doesn't chew at public events and added, "We all have our vices."