• What is your position on the war in Iraq?

• What is your position on the war in Iraq?

We face a longer and costlier conflict in Iraq at the expense of domestic economic development, education, health, environment, infrastructure and quality of life if an orderly withdrawal is not achieved. Iraq is on the brink of civil war. It is clear by now that Iraq had nothing to do with the 2001 attacks and the war has been a costly distraction from the worldwide effort to combat al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden. The war was grossly under funded from its inception and lacked adequate troops setting the stage for future failure. Today, the cost of the war has now reached a staggering $379 billion and continues to cost us $1.5 billion a week with no end is sight. By remaining without a target pullout date, a plan or a strategy to secure Iraq, we are creating more terrorists and inadvertently confirming claims made by our enemies that we seek to occupy Muslim lands. We are undermining our efforts on the "war on terror" and our credibility within the international community. I support an immediate phased pullout from Iraq to be completed within 12-18 months and the pursuance of diplomatic measures. The valuable lives of our military people and taxpayer dollars should not be recklessly squandered in pursuit of flawed foreign policy.

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