Vilsack dismisses notion of capping number of U.S. troops in Iraq, pushes for phased withdrawl

(AP) Democratic presidential candidate Tom Vilsack on Friday dismissed his rivals' call for a cap on U.S. forces in Iraq, arguing instead for withdrawing American troops.

In separate appearances this week, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., said they favored capping the number of troops in Iraq, which stand at about 140,000, and a phased withdrawal. Obama has launched an exploratory committee, with a planned presidential announcement next month. Clinton is expected to reveal her intentions within days.

The Iraq war and the presence of U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf nation have divided the Democratic candidates. John Edwards has challenged his rivals in the Senate to cut off funds to stop President Bush from sending some 21,500 additional troops.

Vilsack favors removing U.S. troops from the Baghdad area and southern Iraq and has called on Congress to block funds for additional troops in Iraq.

"I don't get the capping of troops. To me, we've got to be taking troops out of Iraq," he told reporters after talking to students at a middle school.

The rebuilding of Iraq also was an issue as the former Iowa governor spoke to employees at Granite State Independent Living, a nonprofit group that broke ground on its first "EasyLiving Home."

He said work in Iraq will leave little money for domestic projects.

"We are embarking on a program in which we are spending literally billions of dollars to reconstruct a country halfway around the world, which means we don't have sufficient resources for some of the programs that are so important to keeping the American dream alive," he said.