SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, marched out prominent retired Utah generals and Afghanistan veterans on Friday to attack challenger Mike Lee's stance on Afghanistan as a naive, dangerous "cut-and-run" policy that could lead to the return of Taliban rule.
However, Lee said Bennett not only is twisting his views but also may have out-generaled himself to Lee's advantage.
By going on the offensive, Lee said, Bennett simply showed how vulnerable he must be. He added that Bennett may have done Lee a favor, because Bennett's attacks seem to confirm Lee is atop the seven Republicans challenging Bennett and presents enough danger to be criticized.
Bennett launched attacks after recent debate statements by Lee about Afghanistan, including saying America should not subject "our young men and women to danger if the purpose is simply nation building, if we're there for the purpose of bringing Meals on Wheels to foreign governments or building self-esteem in foreign governments. That's why we're there."
At a news conference at the Vietnam Memorial at the state Capitol, retired Maj. Gen. Peter Cooke said about such comments, "I don't know if they're naive or they're trying to get political gain. Now is not a time for either. ... One must know those kinds of comments hurt our soldiers engaged in fighting."
Former Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, a retired brigadier general in the Utah Air National Guard, said wars in Korea and Vietnam offered lessons for involvement in Afghanistan now that Lee has not learned.
He said America pulled out too soon from those two countries. "We shouldn't have a nuclear threat from North Korea. Vietnam should not all be communist. We have hindsight to prove that we've got to stay firm in Afghanistan and not make the same mistakes we did in all those other wars."
Jill Stevens, a former Miss Utah who served in Afghanistan in the Utah National Guard, said, "I know we are making a difference in Afghanistan. It is not just military strikes. This nation needs to be rebuilt so they can survive on their own."
Layne Pace, an attack helicopter pilot in Afghanistan who leads efforts to help orphans there, added, "The military does more than just attack and leave. ... They need our support to build up their military so that someday we can leave so they have a stable government (and so) that people such as the Taliban or al-Qaida ... won't have the power to take their freedom away again."
Bennett also earlier sent a letter to GOP state convention delegates attacking Lee on Afghanistan — which Lee received because he is a delegate himself.
Lee then posted on his Web page, "My policy on Afghanistan is simple: Our troops are there to take out military targets — things that present a clear and present danger to our national security — and should be brought home as soon as possible after all such targets have been destroyed or neutralized and the Afghan National Army has been trained sufficiently to protect their own land from further Taliban incursion."
Lee also told the Deseret News that a cousin of his wife recently was blinded in an attack in Afghanistan and he knows well "the sacrifice by these brave young men and women. A number of them will not come home, and a number will come home with serious injuries."
Lee said the attack by Bennett allies on Friday was not so much about Afghanistan but because some polling by candidates shows Lee ahead in delegate support at the state convention. Lee said his own polling shows him with a double-digit lead over Bennett.
"That's what this is about," Lee said. "This is Washington-style politics at its worst. It shows he is willing to move in and attack to distract attention away from his own record."
Lee also said the attack by Bennett may be a backhanded compliment by showing that he is strong enough to merit such attention. "But I'm disappointed that he has chosen to take this path."
e-mail: lee@desnews.com