For those of you who are joining us for the first time, welcome! This is another in our weekly liveblog series. A little about myself: I spent seven years on active duty in the Air Force, flying missions in both Iraq and Afghanistan. While on active duty, I earned my Master's Degree in Economics, and I currently teach Economics at a local community college. I also still serve as a Captain in the Air Force Reserve. I am running for Congress to get our troops out of Iraq, balance the budget, and make sure that every American has access to quality, affordable healthcare.
Last Wednesday, I endorsed Darcy Burner's Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq. We need to get our troops out of Iraq so that we can rebuild our military and focus on Afghanistan. But beyond the military reasons, we also need to rebuild our economy, which we cant do while we are spending 12 billion dollars a month in Iraq. The video from my speech and more details on the military side under the fold.
As a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as a Captain in the Air Force Reserve, I also have some more ideas on the particulars of how we can withdraw our troops safely and quickly.
- We should bring our troops home as quickly and as safely as possible. We should set a plan for steady removal of troops, and not deviate from it. My recommendation would be no less than one brigade a month. This rate would allow for the troops that are leaving to do so in an orderly fashion, and would not place undue strain on the troops remaining.
- Continue to train the Iraqi military. Encourage the Iraqi government to build its own defenses so that it is not as vulnerable to outside influence or internal strife. While our troops need to get out of this civil war, we still need to work closely with the Iraqi government as an ally, help them to train their own military, and provide them advice and consultation whenever possible.
- If the Iraqi government fails to provide for adequate security, we should encourage the local sheiks to provide that security as we redeploy. If needed, we could work directly with those individuals and provide them with the training and necessary equipment. In fact, some of the most recent progress has come from this approach.
- The Iraqi government needs to do whatever it takes to secure their oil pipelines and start pumping! This will give them the money needed to pay for the increases in security forces and the overall rebuilding of their country, while lowering our gas prices by increasing supply. If they need more supplies to protect this key resource, we can provide them at a fair price.
- Keep a rapid response force in the region. We have personnel in Turkey, Qatar, the UAE, and other nations in the region. If, for some unseen reason, we need to send a temporary small force back into Iraq, we will be prepared to do so.
- Most importantly, do not allow our withdrawal to be subject to the Iraqi government meeting its own goals. We must show the Iraqis that we will not allow them to set our military policy. At this point, there are no more military solutions in Iraq. Ultimately, the Iraqi government needs to reap the rewards and consequences of its successes and failures on its own.
I am excited to answer your questions on Iraq and the Responsible Plan, or any other topic. Also, of course, a link to the ActBlue page.
--Richard