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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- U.S. Senate hopeful Mike Lee has issued a statement on his website that he hopes will reassure delegates to the state convention that he's a strong supporter of America's troops in Afghanistan.
Lee is one of seven Republicans challenging U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett for the GOP nomination this spring, and is widely seen as one of Bennett's greatest threats.
Bennett has undergone a relentless attack from his right by Lee and others for what they contend is a betrayal of conservative values for supporting a bailout of the nation's financial system.
Bennett has responded in recent weeks by stepping up his criticism of Lee for comments he made in a debate last month that U.S. troops shouldn't be put in harm's way if they're just building self esteem for foreign governments.
"We need to keep the federal government focused on national defense," Lee had said. "And what I mean by that is we can't be overseas subjecting our young men and women to danger if the purpose is simply nation building, if we're there for purposes of bringing meals on wheels to foreign governments or building self-esteem in foreign governments. That's not why we're there."
Bennett has used that statement, and another where Lee said there may be as many thugs in suburban Utah County as there are active militant Taliban in Afghanistan, in two commercial spots that began making their way to delegates this week.
The commercials and the rhetoric from Bennett and other GOP challengers have had an immediate effect, with many delegates saying this week they're now unsure of Lee's national security credentials.
Bennett told delegates on Tuesday he intends to keep hammering away on the issue.
"I've been to Iraq, I've been to Afghanistan, I've been to the Middle East, I've been to the Palestinians and the Israelis, and I believe that the positon taken by this one opponent is irresponsible, and I've spoken out on it and intend to keep speaking out on it," he said.
Lee contended that Bennett and his other GOP challengers are taking his comments out of context. On Thursday, his campaign posted a statement on its home page detailing his Afghanistan policy.
"First and foremost, my policy on Afghanistan is clear: our troops are there to take out military targets -- i.e., things that present a clear and present threat to our national security," the statement read. "They 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."
The statement also said that "anyone who would question my support for, or commitment to, our military and national defense has either not explored my positions or has been misled."
Meanwhile, one of Lee and Bennett's chief rivals, businessman Tim Bridgewater, said Thursday he has created a veterans advisory council to advise him on foreign policy and military related issues
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
