Iraq

I traveled to Iraq last summer.  I know that our men and women in uniform have performed bravely and honorably in that country, doing everything that has been asked of them.  But their service and sacrifice has not been met with the kind of leadership that honors such dedication.

We have been in Iraq for over five years now.  As a result, our military is stretched thin.  Our troops are required to serve multiple tours, sometimes end on end without critical time to rest and recuperate in between. 

I believe we must lay out a timeline and begin responsibly redeploying our troops out of Iraq.  Beginning such a strategic redeployment is the only way to compel the Iraqi government to stand up and achieve the level of political and security progress necessary.  In this process we must press neighboring countries to participate in diplomacy to reduce violence in Iraq and commit the resources necessary to ensure the long term security and stability of Iraq.  A secure redeployment of American troops will put Iraqis and their neighbors on notice they are responsible for regional security and have nothing to gain by inflaming violence.  This will allow the international community to participate in rebuilding Iraq.

Redeploying troops will enable our nation to confront emerging threats and security concerns, an ability that has been greatly constrained as our military and other resources have been stretched thin in Iraq.  We must refocus attention on Afghanistan as well as the broader war on terror.

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