Bringing Our Troops Home from Iraq
As I’ve talked with Rhode Islanders at community dinners and events all across the state, one issue is on people’s minds almost more than any other: the war in Iraq.
The misguided war in Iraq has strained the capacity of our military and placed extreme pressures on our service members and their families. It has distracted our attention from other serious threats to our security, from the resurgent al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan to nuclear proliferation around the globe. It has driven the deficit sky-high and diverted funding that could have been used to improve our schools or develop renewable energy for a more lasting American security posture. And it has cost us the lives of thousands of American men and women in uniform, and the health and wellbeing of tens of thousands more.
I believe it is right to bring our troops home from Iraq, and at every opportunity, I have voted to pressure President Bush to change course. I am a cosponsor of legislation offered by Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Harry Reid (D-NV) that would begin redeploying our troops safely and responsibly, and end virtually all funding for the war within nine months of enactment. I’ve also supported efforts to hold the Bush administration accountable for its failures in Iraq, including legislation that would create an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate U.S. wartime contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. And when I returned home from visiting Iraq in March 2007, I met with President Bush to tell him face to face that Rhode Islanders want to see our troops coming home.
The President and Republicans in Congress have stalled our attempts to set a new direction in Iraq. But I will continue fighting to pressure the President to change course – and I won’t stop until we see an end to this failed and misguided war.