Iraq

Our men and women in uniform represent the best America has to offer. Our troops in Iraq have done all that we’ve asked of them and more, and performed valiantly in difficult and dangerous situations. This year, the 50,000 troops who remain in Iraq are scheduled to come home.  It is long past time that the Iraqis take full responsibility for their country and make the tough political compromises vital to achieving lasting peace in Iraq. Even after we fully withdraw all U.S. soldiers from Iraq, we must continue to use all of our diplomatic tools to encourage a unified, democratic Iraq that can govern and defend itself and remain an ally against terrorist organizations.

Afghanistan

The United States invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 to remove a repressive regime that harbored and aided al Qaeda. The death of Osama bin Laden, who had declared war on America and was directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans, is a major accomplishment for our armed forced and intelligence services.

Ron visits with Wisconsin troops on a trip to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

After nearly 10 years, however, we need to start drawing down our troops in a responsible way. Afghanistan must be able to defend itself and secure its borders. The President has laid out a plan to begin withdrawing some troops in July and intends to withdraw American troops by the end of 2014. This is a reasonable timeframe to allow the Afghan government to take on responsibility for security, economic reconstruction, and self governance.

Even after our troops leave, we cannot afford to ignore Afghanistan and risk allowing it to become a safe harbor for al Qaeda and others who seek to do us harm. That means we will have to find ways to work with the Afghan people to promote stability and keep al Qaeda and its affiliates on the run.

I remain deeply concerned about the role that Pakistan is playing in Afghanistan, as parts of their military and intelligence service appears to continue supporting Taliban members who are crossing the border to fight American and Afghan troops. Any long-term solution to the conflict in Afghanistan will require significant support from Pakistan and I will continue to push the Administration to hold Pakistan accountable for its actions.

Full Funding for Our Troops

Having traveled around western Wisconsin and visited Iraq four times, I have heard from a number of the Wisconsinites currently and formerly serving in our nation’s armed forces. It has become very clear that in these challenging economic times we must do more to provide for the basic needs of our troops and veterans. I am proud that in recent years, Congress has acted to support our current and former service members by creating the New GI Bill, making historic investments to strengthen veterans’ health care, and improving care for those with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Our troops in the field have been doing a terrific job under difficult and dangerous conditions.  As long as our troops are in harm’s way, it’s important that they have the tools and resources they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.

To read more about what I’ve done for veterans, click here.