Yesterday, twelve former Army captains wrote that short of reinstating the draft, "our best option is to leave Iraq immediately." In an extraordinary editorial in the Washington Post, these captains--all of whom served in Iraq--made it clear that we need to end this war and we need to end it now. They wrote that a " scaled withdrawal will not prevent a civil war and it will spend more blood and treasure on a losing proposition."
I strongly urge every American to read this important report from those who served in the failed conflict in Iraq. Army captains are the staff officers who plan operations against insurgent strongholds. They are the company commanders who lead our soldiers through the streets of Baghdad. And they are the soldiers who will direct our withdrawal from Iraq.
These men and women know the score. They know that we must leave Iraq. As they put it, "It's time to make a choice." Americans are fed up with the President's stalling and Congressional failure to act. Frankly, it is well past time we make a choice. And the only responsible choice left to us is to get all of our troops out of Iraq, with no residual forces left behind--no combat forces, no non-combat forces. As President, I will do it. I will get all of our troops out within a year after I take office - sooner if we can get it done safely.
The other major candidates in this race have said--again and again--that they will not. Senators Edwards, Obama, and Clinton have all refused to commit to getting all of our troops out of Iraq by 2013. None of them are willing to be clear about removing all troops - combat and non-combat. It's unbelievable. Are they looking at the same war the rest of us are? Furthermore, they are all advocating precisely the sort of scaled withdrawal that these twelve captains are warning against. It doesn't make any sense. Real leadership is about making the tough choices, and knowing when it is time to make bold moves. Now is the time for action, not hesitation. Ending this war requires real change, not more incrementalism.
Ending this war is the most important issue of our time. And it is the fundamental difference between me and Senators Edwards, Obama, and Clinton. I will end the war; they will not. I will get all of our troops out; they will leave troops behind indefinitely. I will order a safe and rapid withdrawal and have our troops out within a year. They have proposed a long, protracted withdrawal that will only increase the danger to our fighting men and women and drag out the war.
2013 is six years from now - six years. In six years, will we have lost 6,000 men and women in Iraq? 10,000? More? In six years will this be a $2 trillion mistake? Or $3 trillion? The war has been going on for four and half years already. Six years from now, we will have been there for more than a decade. Are you okay with that? I'm not.
The choice in Iraq is clear. We need to get all our troops out quickly. We need to end this war for real. Go to getourtroopsout.com to join Americans across the country in calling for a quick, clear, responsible end to the war in Iraq.
The REAL leader on how to end the war in Iraq is JOE BIDEN
changing in Iraq. One is increased violence
again, in areas thought to be secured. And
the Kurds in northern Iraq killing Turkish
troops as they hit targets at the border.
When will the Iraqi government, which is Bush
friendly, be ready to assume more active
military control? Were they not being trained
starting 3 years ago to assume the duties
so that American troops could begin the process
of coming home? And at what point do people
get that conflicts in the Middle East have
gone on for centuries and will continue, and
that the civil war Iraq has become, will only
get worse?
Pathetic and damnable bastards!
in their country. The people will tell you so. The politicians cannot be relied upon to speed things up as
long as we cover their butts.
I and many, many Americans agree with you that this so-called "war" should be over yesterday, and that the troops should be brought home immediately. We agree that GW Bush had no legitimate reason to invade and continue to occupy Iraq, and the excuses he made to do so turned out to be false pretenses. We agree that there is no reason to spend resources and possibly lives to guard a $1 billion white elephant embassy in a country that doesn't want our presence there. The problem is:
HOW CAN WE GET CONGRESS TO CARRY OUT OUR WISHES???
I write my representative and senators almost daily. I write and e-mail Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, etc. I even write and e-mail the white house. On the recent SCHIP vote for children's health care, I wrote every senator and representative that voted against the bill, and I wrote every Republican that voted for the bill to thank them. All to no avail.
I am afraid that the self-interest of our politicans' political careers trumps all logic and ethical morality. I am afraid that no one in Washington is truly acting to reflect the interests of their constituents, but, rather, they are acting to preserve and protect their political careers. As long as our elections are bought by bundlers, lobbyists and favorable connections with the Supreme Court, I don't see our "leaders" as representing our best interests.
And all the while, people, American soldiers and Iraqi civilians, continue to be horribly maimed and die. And, all the while, GW Bush continues to glibly smile his nauseating smirk and gets punch-drunk on his unchecked power.
I spoke with him specifically about John Edward's stance on getting the troops out when he visited Iowa.
He knows John Edwards will get all of the combat troops out. He knows the troops Edwards will leave behind will only be the standard security details for the Embassy (which he would also do) and humanitarian workers should those workers be needed.
I have written to his campaign and they wrote back acknowledging the mistake. They also said they would correct the error. Then this comes out.
I have only one conclusion. Bill Richardson is a liar.
Clearly, we are in combat in Iraq for oil. I did not volunteer to die for oil and other commodities. Perhaps you see it different. You might want to review the history of WWII. Democrats that you seem to hate, lead the American forces to a decisive victory. Your beloved Republicans seem to be having their ass handed to them by a rag-tag insurgency in a war they started in Iraq. They ain't doing so well in Afghanistan either. But if Americans keep thinking like the fascists want us to we will have endless opportunities to fight wars.
tired of anyone in government and especially a
Presidential candidate, saying something needs
to be done in Iraq. Do something! Show all of
us some action! Talk is very cheap these days.
There will be civilian workers, not all of whom are Americans, who will be at risk during the drawdown. But none of them will be caught by surprise given the loud dialogue (or swearing) surrounding a US withdrawal from Iraq. Any who choose to remain will do so because of economic reasons, unless they're relief workers (and these folks are who we should be defending). But I do appreciate your concern for the contractors...with the exception of those who work for a few notorious companies.
GOOD LUCK
HOW DARE BUSH TO SEND IRAC SO MANY MILLIONS OF OUR MONEY TO IRAC AND OUR VERY OWN PEOPLE ARE STARVING, NO MEDICAL HEALP FOR THE YOUNG(HOWN STUPID) WHAT IS THIS COUNTRY GOING TO BE IN THE FUTURE ESPECIALLY FOR OUR GRANDCHILDREN?
DO U THINK CHANEY, BUSH ETC CARES ABOUT THE HARD WORKERS THAT MADE THIS COUNTRY WHAT IT IS TODAY , HECK KNOW THEY ARE OIL MEN , AND THE DOLLAR SIGN IS THEIR LOGO, BUT IT WILL BE THEIR DOWNFALL SOON, SO LETS ALL GET ALONG AND GET OUT AND VOTEFOR THE RIGHT GUY , IF POSSIBLE............
You have my vote and what other contributions I can make to electing a president of whose leadership will make us proud.
A draft should have resulted from 9/11, and the Captains are right there. But these halfass approaches, by the administration (the surge and wait for the politicians), and the 'we can end the war' candidates, are equally foolish. Either we do an allout effort to rebuild Iraq, making it peaceful, secure and prosperous, whatever it takes, or we admit that we lost, taking no pleasure from it and impeaching the President and Vice-President for their incompetence, lies and fraud.
Here's to clarity, and here's to getting the hell out of I-wreck.