The War in Iraq
We need to end our involvement in the war in Iraq, and begin bringing home our men and women in uniform. They have done all that has been asked of them, and our soldiers are not the answer to a religious and sectarian civil war. We now need a political solution, not a military one.
Last year, I worked on the campaign of Army Captain Patrick Murphy – the only Iraq War Veteran elected to Congress. He was on the ground in Baghdad and saw up close how the Administration's policies weren't working. Congressman Murphy has been clear: any solution to Iraq's problems must start with the Iraqis. I've listened to, and worked side by side with Congressman Murphy, and I trust his judgment on Iraq far more than the Administration that got us into this mess.
The Bush Administration's mistaken instigation and incompetent execution of the war in Iraq will go down as one of the greatest foreign policy blunders in history. The damage that has been done to the reputation and strength of the United States by the conduct of this war will take decades to repair -- longer even than the time that will be needed to pay down the Bush Administration's contribution to our national debt.
I give my full support to the efforts of bipartisan groups in Congress that are attempting to use all the powers allowed by our Constitution to shake some sense into the Bush administration on Iraq. The first step must be to abandon the Bush Administration's stubborn insistence on an American solution to an Iraqi problem. Whether the troops come home by applying pressure to Bush administration, by the installation of a president with new ideas, or by the election of veto-proof majorities in both houses of Congress -- the troops will come home.
The deep religious conflicts in Iraq have led many to believe that the most promising strategy for the Iraqis is to partition their country into separate religious and tribal enclaves. Should the Iraqis embrace this strategy of separating the religious groups, the U.S. could play a supportive role - much as the American lead NATO effort did successfully in Bosnia, or the "no-fly zone" that protoected the Kurds for the decade between Gulf Wars . Under all circumstances, American ground forces must begin the process of coming home as soon as possible.
We must also learn from our mistakes, and never again start an unprovoked war of choice without the full debate and formal declaration of war that was intended by our Constitution.