Gov. repeats call for troop pullout timeline

Aligning himself with congressional Democrats in the debate on the Iraq war, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reiterated Sunday that the U.S. needs to set clear timelines for bringing troops home, lest Iraq devolve into a quagmire with no end in sight.

Republican Schwarzenegger, speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” said Americans won’t support a war that becomes an open-ended commitment -- a point, he said, that needs to be made to the Iraqis.

“We should let the Iraqis know that we are here until this time. And then we’re going to draw back,” Schwarzenegger said. “We’re going to draw our troops out of Iraq. I think a timeline is absolutely important because I think that the people in America don’t want to see another Korean War, another Vietnam War, where it’s an open-ended thing.”

In January, on ABC News’ “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” he also voiced support for a timetable so that Iraqis fully understand that they have “got to be independent.”

In Washington on Sunday for an annual meeting of the nation’s governors, Schwarzenegger staked out a position at odds with that of his party’s leader, President Bush, who at a news conference Feb. 14 said “the operation to secure Baghdad is going to take time.”

Vice President Dick Cheney dismissed the notion of fixed dates for troop withdrawal as recently as last week. “I don’t think you can put a timetable on it,” he said. Cheney has also castigated congressional Democrats for opposing Bush’s planned “surge” of 21,500 troops to secure Baghdad, saying that approach would “validate the Al Qaeda strategy.”

With no caveats, Schwarzenegger offered his views on a national television program on the same day he was to have dinner with the president at the White House -- showing he had no qualms about possibly offending Bush or alienating the base of the Republican Party.

Schwarzenegger told CBS’ Bob Schieffer that if he got the chance, he would tell the president that a timeline for troop withdrawal is essential. “If the opportunity is there, I definitely will,” he said.

Schwarzenegger’s position puts him to the left of most Republicans in Congress and those running for president. At minimum, most Democrats have called for a timetable for withdrawal, with some going so far as to set a specific date for removing troops.

The governor offered no dates in his remarks Sunday.

Schwarzenegger’s stand mirrors that of some of the Democratic presidential candidates. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has introduced legislation requiring that all combat troops leave Iraq by March 2008. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) has called for removing some troops within 90 days. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, the party’s vice presidential candidate in 2004, wants an immediate drawdown of up to 50,000 troops, with a goal of total withdrawal within 12 to 18 months.

Among Republican candidates for president, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has been a Bush ally on the war and is backing the president’s troop surge. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has endorsed Bush’s plan for additional troops.

Mindful of Bush’s unpopularity in California, Schwarzenegger has never portrayed his White House relationship as especially cozy. Schwarzenegger avoided joint campaign appearances with Bush when the president visited California during the 2006 governor’s race. Schwarzenegger has also been at odds with the Bush administration over the deployment of National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border. And he’s chided the White House for not doing more to curb global warming, portraying California’s efforts as a catalyst for national action.

Schwarzenegger’s position on what to do about an unpopular war has been rapidly evolving. During a trade mission to Mexico in November, the governor espoused more of a stay-the-course approach. He voiced reservations at the time about “pulling out and turning our backs on our friends.” But Schwarzenegger conceded Sunday that as someone who is still comparatively new to politics, he is apt to make mistakes.

That is what happened during the first two years of his governorship, he said, when he adopted a more confrontational approach in dealing with the Legislature’s Democratic majority.

“I contributed to the polarization in California,” Schwarzenegger said. He offered a defense of Clinton, who has refused to apologize for her 2002 vote authorizing military action in Iraq.

“Every human being makes mistakes,” the governor said. “And that’s why they [voters] understand when a politician says, ‘I made a mistake.’ It’s that simple. Now, with Hillary Clinton, I think that people should, when it comes to the war, should elevate this whole discussion and really not pick on things like that, but really try to get along in Washington if it is the war or anything else.”

Schwarzenegger said in the CBS interview that he may not formally endorse anyone before the Republican National Convention next year. But in describing the candidates, the only one he mentioned by name was McCain. Schwarzenegger appeared with the senator at the Port of Los Angeles last week -- a move that had the feel of an endorsement.

The governor said Sunday that he was “very happy” with McCain, “simply because he has been a pro-environment person and someone that believes very strongly in the environment and also protecting the economy at the same time.”

peter.nicholas@latimes.com