Democrat James Webb Calls on Bush to Rule Out Iraq« Thread Started on Oct 28, 2006, 7:13pm » --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Democrat James Webb Calls on Bush to Rule Out Iraqi Bases By Miles Weissread at source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... er=homeOct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- President George Bush should clarify that the U.S. has no plans to build permanent bases in Iraq, said James Webb, a novelist and former Navy secretary who is running for the Senate in Virginia, in the Democratic Party's weekly radio address. ``Declaring our intention to withdraw our combat forces will take the moral high ground away from the insurgency in the eyes of the Muslim world,'' Webb, a former Marine who fought in Vietnam, said. It would also ``defuse the concern of other Iraqis that we plan to stay for good,'' said Webb. The conduct of the Iraq war is an issue in the Nov. 7 U.S. midterm elections, with voters' support for Democrats over Bush's Republicans rising amid concerns about casualties and stability in the oil-rich nation. Webb, who is trying to unseat Republican Senator George Allen, also called on the Bush administration to begin negotiating with other countries in the region that are ``culturally and historically invested'' in Iraq. The Bush administration, ``with the strong support of George Allen,'' has refused to begin a dialogue with Iran and Syria, Webb said. Allen's lead in the race has disappeared following a comment he made about one of Webb's campaign workers who is of Indian descent. Democrats have also been running advertisements that cite Allen's failure to disclose stock options he held in local companies while serving in the Senate. Allen's aides have been trying to persuade media outlets to report on sex scenes included in Webb's books, and Allen said that sexual content in the novels belittles women, the Washington Post reported. Webb defended his historical novels about the war in Vietnam as ``serious'' and called Allen's attack part of a negative campaign unable to offer ideas, the newspaper said. Webb adviser Steve Jarding said Allen, who has no wartime experience, isn't qualified to comment on Webb's novels, the Post reported. To contact the reporter on this story: Miles Weiss in Washington DC at mweiss@bloomberg.net