As released yesterday, and broken here the day before, Richard Carter, candidate for Congress in the Nebraska Second District, has endorsed Darcy Burner's Responsible Plan to end the War in Iraq.
As I mentioned yesterday, this is proof that we can run progressive candidates everywhere, even in Nebraska, so long as we are honest with the people about the most important issues.
The transcript of the entire speech is below the fold.
First, Richard thanked everyone, and talked about why and how the Iraq war has been such a disaster.
Thank you all for coming.
I would like also to thank the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the UNO College Democrats for hosting me here today.
As a veteran of the war in Iraq, I have a unique perspective on the conflict. I know first hand what has gone well and what has not. Our troops have completed every mission assigned to them, and have done so bravely and courageously. Unfortunately, that is the only part of the war that has been well executed.
The war in Iraq has lessened the overall readiness of our military, and distracted us from Afghanistan and the real War on Terror. The war in Iraq has made us less prepared to respond to other potential threats around the world. It has sent our economy spiraling toward recession, shackled us with an enormous debt, and hijacked our energy policy.
The Iraq War must end.
Richard then talked about our men and women in uniform, and the cost of the war on our military and on our national security.
Our brave men and women in Iraq have accomplished every mission they were given. They were told to depose a dictator, and in a matter of weeks, they removed Saddam Hussein from power. They were told to ensure we were safe from weapons of mass destruction, and they did that as well. They helped make it safe for the Iraqi people to write a constitution and elect their own democratic government, and they have helped to train the Iraqi military to protect their new institutions.
There are no more appropriate missions to assign our military in this war. Our military personnel join the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marines to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. We can no longer allow our servicemen and women to be used as a police force for hire. It is unfair to those who continue to risk their lives everyday to protect us, and disrespectful to those who gave their lives in that pursuit.
The war in Iraq has become a distraction from real national security concerns. The commanding officer in Afghanistan recently reported that he did not have sufficient troops or materials to succeed in his mission. We need to remember that we got into this war to go after Al Qaeda, the men who perpetrated 9/11. Our excursion into Iraq has directly contributed to the resurgence of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
Some politicians will try to tell you that it would be irresponsible to abandon that part of the world, or that we are fighting them over there so that we don’t have to fight them here. These tired talking points do a disservice to the Armed Forces, and cheapen our national discourse.
We have personnel in Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Turkey, and several other nations in the region. Removing our troops from the middle of a dangerous civil war in Iraq hardly constitutes abandoning the Middle East.
And these politicians who want to use fear tactics to scare us into more war, and more casualties, would do well to remember that if we had been allowed to finish the job in Afghanistan, we would not be fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq at all.
Let’s be clear: the war in Iraq does not make the United States any safer; instead it has made our nation, and the entire world, a more dangerous place.
Not only is ending the war imperative to respecting our men and women in uniform, it is crucial to ensuring our national security.
We MUST bring our men and women home from Iraq as quickly and as safely as possible.
Then he moved on to the impact on the economy.
Our continued involvement in Iraq, in addition to making us far less safe, simply can no longer be afforded.
Nationally, we are spending 12 billion dollars a month in Iraq. This is money that could—and rightfully should—be spent here at home to fix the problems we’re facing. Our national infrastructure is literally crumbling. Public schools are struggling to provide even adequate textbooks for students. 47 million people in this nation, that’s one out of every seven, worry everyday about getting sick or getting into an accident, because they have no health insurance.
12 billion dollars a month. 12 billion dollars. That number is so high, we often loose sight of what else we could do with that much money. So let’s bring that number a little closer to home. Taxpayers—in this district alone—pay 23 million dollars a month to fund this war. Instead, we could do so much to strengthen our communities in Bellevue and Omaha, in Papillion and La Vista, in Ralston and Valley and Elkhorn.
As you know, I’m a teacher, and a lot of my friends are teachers, so let’s look at education for an example. Instead of the taxes paid—by taxpayers in our district alone—for one month in Iraq, we could build two new elementary schools, pay their teachers’ salaries, and provide every single child in those schools with quality healthcare.
And this is just one example of what we could do in one district by forgoing one month in what has become a disastrous war.
In closing, Richard talked about why he is endorsing the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq.
We have to get out of Iraq so we can refocus on greater priorities. Today, I am endorsing Darcy Burner’s "Responsible plan to end the War in Iraq." I am endorsing this plan because it does more than just say that we need to bring our troops home. This plan emphasizes the importance of diplomacy, which this administration has completely disregarded. Darcy’s proposal also recognizes that the mismanagement of the Iraq war has been in direct conflict with the Constitution of the United States.
Every candidate, and every military expert, who has endorsed this plan recognizes that we must diligently work toward true energy independence, rebuild our economy, restore our constitution, and refocus on Afghanistan and win the real war on terror. But we also realize not one of these goals will be accomplished while we are still entangled in Iraq.
As a candidate for U.S. Congress here in Nebraska's Second District, and as a veteran and an Officer in the United States Air Force, I am proud to join other candidates such as Darcy Burner and Donna Edwards, and military leaders such as Major General Paul Eaton and Captain Larry Seaquist, in endorsing the Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq.
If you liked what you read there, and you want to support a progressive Democratic veteran in a red district, please make a donation, no matter how large or small. We have a primary in 41 days, and every single dollar helps.