I guess this candidate thought Bush and Company knew what the hell they are doing....or maybe not....
Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, an advocacy group, issued a statement citing a remark General Lute made in an interview with the Financial Times in August 2005, in which he argued for significant troop reductions. “You simply have to back off and let the Iraqis step forward,” the general said at the time. “You have to undercut the perception of occupation in Iraq.”
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Well, yeah, that was the Rumsfeld/Abizaid plan from 2003 to 2005/6: reduce our foot-print and allow Iraqis to take the lead as much as possible. American forces concentrated on a limited role, mainly focused on military tasks rather than policing in a conscious effort to raise the Iraqi government profile in Iraq.
Made sense - didn't work.
As that particular strategy played out, LTG Lute made his comments, and President Bush et al were accused of being polly-anna'ish in their calls to "stay the course". Well, the reduced footprint strategy failed, as happens in the dynamic environment we call war. Don Rumsfeld was replaced by Robert Gates and this new surge strategy has been implemented. The current strategy raises our profile, but it also more soberly recognizes the weaknesses of the Iraqi government, takes up their slack, and seeks to take the strain off of the Iraqis while they build up their domestic capability.
Essentially, it was a step back to take two steps forward. LTG Lute made his comments in a different situation that's since changed. I'm sure he recognizes those changes and has a different outlook now, as we all do. That's war. It's the rare one where even the best plans don't change as events unfold.
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