In separate Statehouse news conferences, U.S. Rep. Phil Hare and 18th District congressional candidate Colleen Callahan said they don’t support immediate withdrawal from Iraq. But both said they believe that officials should develop a timeline for pulling troops out of that country.

Callahan recalled a trip she took to Iraq in November 2003, when she accompanied then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and paid her own way.

“I still communicate with soldiers I met in Iraq,” Callahan said. “Proud as they are of the work they have done, these brave men and women continue to be frustrated with this never-ending war, and they need to know that the end is near.”

Hare said last year’s military surge, which boosted the number of troops in Iraq, has “tamped down” levels of violence but isn’t enough to end the war.

“There’s been no diplomatic surge, and that’s what I’m most concerned about,” Hare said, adding that he thinks U.S. troops won’t be able to come home for atleast another 11/2 years.

Hare also criticized President Bush’s administration for spending so much on the Iraq war — $13 billion to $14 billion a month, he said. That money could be redirected for domestic purposes, such as ensuring that children have health insurance, he added.

Hare, who lives in Rock Island, holds the 17th District congressional seat and is unopposed so far in the November general election. Callahan, a Kickapoo resident, will take on Republican Aaron Schock in November to determine who succeeds retiring U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria.

“Senator John McCain has said we could be in Iraq for 100 years,” Callahan said, referring to the Republican presidential contender and Arizona senator. “This position is unacceptable, and I challenge my Republican opponent Aaron Schock to disavow this dangerous line of thinking.”

Schock said he believes McCain’s comments were taken out of context, and that McCain was referring to a continued troop presence.

“I don’t believe a timeline should be artificially set by politicians who are trying to play generals back here in our country, but rather be made by the professionals who are on the ground and know the situation better than anyone,” Schock said.