In Iraq, we find ourselves embroiled in a conflict that was based on a series of deliberate lies. Like the shifting sands of a desert, the reasons for going to war and remaining in Iraq are ever-changing. First we were misled in believing Iraq harbored terrorists responsible for 9/11. Then we were told Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction that posed an imminent threat to the United States. Next the reasons shifted to regime change and building democracy in Iraq. Now we’re supposed to remain in Iraq indefinitely to protect the ‘good Iraqis’ from the ‘bad Iraqis’ and even that keeps changing. Now we arming and supporting the very Sunni insurgents in Al-Anbar Province who, just a short while ago, were killing and maiming our troops.
This war had nothing to do with national security. It had nothing to do with 9/11. It had nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction or building democracy in Iraq. This war has always been about controlling the flow of oil, and about siphoning off billions of tax dollars into the private coffers of defense contractors, such as Halliburton and Blackwater. According to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, we are now spending close to $12 billion a month on the war in Iraq. Much of the nearly $600 billion already spent can’t be accounted for, and yet the president continues to ask for more and Congress continues to oblige. The administration squanders millions of dollars on this war, yet refuses to fund needed social services and needed infrastructure repair.
While our soldiers and their families suffer, the CEO’s of companies that do business in Iraq are personally enriching themselves at the government trough, raking in millions of dollars in salaries. Likewise, mercenaries working for private security firms such as Blackwater Security, DynCorp and Custer Battles are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to serve in Iraq, while our troops on the front lines are being denied needed equipment and body armor. When they return home, the healthcare they receive is often inadequate.
I support legislation to expand the GI Bill of Rights to include full college tuition, job training, lifetime healthcare and low interest loans to purchase a home for those who serve in the military.
Ending the war was a major factor in my decision to run for Congress in 2006, and it continues to be the driving force behind my decision to run again in 2008. If elected, I will join with those in Congress calling for the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq. I will not, however, abandon the Iraqi people. I propose replacing American troops with an international peace keeping force, comprised of countries chosen by the government of Iraq.
We need our military and national guard to protect us against legitimate threats to our national security and to assist communities during natural disasters. We do not need to be pursuing pre-emptive wars of choice or ‘nation building’ abroad. We have no business spreading democracy to other countries when we can’t even practice it here at home, as evidenced by the 2000 and 2004 Presidential Elections. We have far too many problems here at home going unmet, as the victims of Katrina will attest.
This war has contributed to record deficits that weaken our economy and genuine national security interests. To make the war palatable, this administration has borrowed heavily from foreign investors, causing a decline in the value of the dollar in relation to other currencies. This, in turn, has led to a rise in the price of oil with a ripple effect at the gas pump and the grocery checkout line. This is a hidden tax that all Americans are affected by.
To continue our present course in Iraq is a prescription for future disaster. Our military is not the solution to the violence in Iraq. As to the argument that our leaving would damage our nation’s reputation irreparably and embolden terrorists elsewhere, I believe to the contrary, that our presence in Iraq damages our reputation far more. Our presence in Iraq is what is fanning the flames of hatred for America. It is estimated that nearly a million Iraqis have died as a result of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, a country that never did our nation any harm.
We should not ask our troops to fight for unknown goals, for unknown reasons for an unknown duration. It is time to bring our troops home, safely and responsibly!
