Iraq and Afghanistan
Congressman Braley visits with Iowa marines during a recent trip to Afghanistan.
After 10 years of conflicts, and our success in finding Bin Laden, I believe it is time to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since coming to Congress, I have been working hard to press the Bush and Obama administrations to ensure there was a strict plan for withdrawal of our troops and work to establish a timeline to leave Iraq and Afghanistan. From day one, I have supported a complete withdrawal from Iraq.
With the recent demise of Osama Bin Laden at the hands of U.S. forces following a 10 year search, I firmly believe it is time to bring our troops home from Afghanistan. More than 5,800 of our servicemen and women have died and more than 40,000 have been wounded in these conflicts which have cost in excess of $1.09 trillion. Having visited with troops and Iraq and Afghanistan, I recognize their hard work and effort to fulfill their orders, but I firmly believe it is time to bring our troops home and end the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Supporting the needs of troops after war
- I have supported legislation to improve treatment for traumatic brain injury and help reduce suicide among our returned troops.
- As a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, I am working to find strategies to promote the employment of veterans who have recently returned from conflicts. Read more here (LINK TO VETS PAGE).
Seeking the True Cost of the Wars
- I introduced the True Cost of War Act looking at the long term costs of our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan
- The bill requires a report from the President on the current costs to date of the wars in terms of number of troops deployed, casualty statistics, pending Veterans claims, the costs associated with caring for veterans displaying the signature wounds of the conflicts, and asks for an accounting of the logistic cost to support a single soldier in theater for a day.
- Language from this bill passed the House on May 25, 2011 and was included in the National Defense Authorization Act for 2012
Supporting our National Guard Troops
- The Iowa National Guard has deployed numerous times to Iraq and Afghanistan, most recently completing a deployment in July of 2011.
- I have been proud to support our National Guard troops, helping them secure post deployment
- Prior to their 2010-2011 deployment, I visited with the deploying National Guard troops at their pre-deployment training at Camp Shelby, MS and was proud to take them 400 dozen ears of corn for a taste of home before they left for Afghanistan.