Iraq

I want to bring the troops home as soon as possible. The current strategy has put our troops in a war zone – making them targets for violence – with no clear goal. The President cannot define victory and I will not support a continuation of an aimless policy that has allowed nearly 4,000 American troops to be killed and nearly 30,000 American troops to be injured.

 

The cost in human life is reason enough to choose to end our occupation of Iraq, but the financial costs have also been huge.

 

Current estimates exceed $1 trillion – borrowed from China and passed on to our children. It’s a cost of about $20,000 per family. Real peace and security would be worth any price, but this was has not brought us peace or security. The War in Iraq has hurt American stature in the world, strengthened and emboldened our enemies and worsened long-standing conflict in the Middle East.

• Civil and religious strife has existed in Iraq for 9 centuries
• Barrel of oil costs about $100
• Saddam, a terrible dictator, is convicted and gone, but he did not have anything to do with the 9-11 attacks
• Osama bin Laden is still free in Pakistan

It is too easy to ask how this has helped us, knowing that there is no good answer. So what now? The Iraq Study Group (aka The Baker-Hamilton Commission) recommended:

• DIPLOMACY that includes the important regional players
• DRAW DOWN the TROOPS – U.S. troop presence serves as a trigger for violence and does not foster independence of Iraqi army/police
• REQUIRE ACCOUNTABILITY of the Iraqi government

In Congress, I will support:

• Having the troops home in 2009
• Exercising proper oversight over VA hospitals and officials by providing medical and psychological treatment for in-patient, out-patient and affected family members
• Protecting our troops by providing adequate troop rotations for active duty military, Reserves and National Guard
• Re-investing in military and National Guard equipment and supplies which have been depleted in the war effort and reduce our ability to deploy and respond to national disasters
• Negotiating with the important regional players who can help to establish a truce, restore regional stability and protect the interests of the United States and our allies
• Holding governments accountable for continued U.S. aid