Clinton, Webb, Byrd and Bayh Want Hearings On Contingency Planning for Troop Withdrawal

Greg Sargent at TPM Muckraker reports: Ratcheting up her war with the Pentagon, Hillary Clinton is joining with Senators Jim Webb, Evan Bayh, and Robert Byrd to demand that the Senate Committee on Armed Services hold hearings to determine the status of the Pentagon's contingency plans for withdrawal with Iraq. "Such a hearing could solicit the views of outside experts who have experience in the redeployment of large numbers of troops as well as administration witnesses," the Senators have written in a letter -- an advance copy of which was emailed to Election Central -- to Armed Services chair Carl Levin. The demand could dramatically increase the public attention on the standoff between Senator Clinton and the Pentagon over Defense Department contingency plans for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq -- a standoff that carries obvious political benefits for Hillary in the context of Democratic Primary politics.