Home > Time for U.S. to withdraw from Iraq

Time for U.S. to withdraw from Iraq

by Open-Publishing - Tuesday 17 May 2005
17 comments

Wars and conflicts International USA

Forty-one months after the United States entered World War II, we had achieved victory in Europe. We’ve been in Iraq for over half that period. What reasonable person would say we have reached the halfway point in Iraq?

Today’s troops are just as brave, patriotic and capable as their WWII predecessors. They have already accomplished much. They deposed and imprisoned a tyrant. They have given ordinary Iraqis the chance to shape their country’s destiny.

Nevertheless, the military occupation of Iraq will not turn Iraq into a democratic nation. Longstanding rivalries will do more to shape that country’s future than anything American troops can do. Those forces will not be controlled by American boots on Iraqi ground, no matter how many we put there or how long they remain.

In Iraq there are no front lines, no easy way to tell friend from foe, and no clear way to measure success. Iraq is a quagmire. Meantime, it has become a recruiting poster for Osama bin Laden. Are we to keep fighting indefinitely, losing more troops every week, spending billions of dollars, and increasing the strain on our armed forces, especially the reserve and National Guard?

We feel this course, with its echoes of Vietnam, is unsustainable. It has already added $200 billion to our national debt and costs U.S. taxpayers more than $1 billion per month. It jeopardizes the strategic interests of the United States, particularly in Asia and the Pacific. It alienates allies in the Muslim world and elsewhere, hindering efforts to create a united global front against al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations.

Unlike World War II, where the enemy surrendered and the troops came home, there is no such prospect in Iraq. We must define an endpoint. We will soon introduce legislation to achieve that goal by bringing the occupation of Iraq to a close. The troops have done their job. It’s up to Congress and the president to forge a policy worthy of their sacrifices.

Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii,is a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, D-Ohio,is ranking member of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-05-16-oppose_x.htm

Here’s a funny story written by Rep Kucinich last week when this legislation was about to be introduced...

Evacuating the Capitol

All-clear now sounded

May 11, 2005 12:51 pm ET

I was standing on the floor of the House, speaking with Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii about legislation we are about to introduce to get the US out of Iraq when a great commotion occurred inside the chamber. "Get down, get down!" someone shouted. A rumor of explosives in the House Gallery. Members crouched behind benches. The Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, was standing just a few steps away. He was immediately surrounded by a number of security personnel who whisked him off the floor. Members then ran from the floor, down the stairs and out the side entrances, joining thousands of tourists, running down the streets away from the Capitol. It was a scene reminiscent of 911 which occurred exactly forty-four months ago, except for a fighter jet which soared above. I Iearned from police and other members that a Code Red had been declared. The first one. It meant there was an imminent danger, from the air? Rumors of a plane invading Capitol airspace. But then...

No more jets. The skies were quiet, but sirens screamed, limousines carrying foreign leaders sped away, capitol police waved their machine guns as they barked instructions to the crowds to move away from the Capitol. Thousands streamed away and then, just as quickly, they streamed back toward the Capitol as an "all clear" was announced.

www.kucinich.us

Forum posts

  • In a perfect world, we would be referring to you as President Kucinich. I hope we can in 2008.

    • It’s just amazing that the US cannot see that staying in Iraq will only lead to defeat. It is as inevitable as night following day. The small will always defeat the large in the long run. It’s only time and more body bags that stands between the US and humiliation. Please listen to the one politician who seems to be trying to save you.

    • The US will withdraw only when Israel says we can.

    • america should not withdraw there are saving the world from terrorism

    • In a perfect world, the "liberal media" would have totally endorsed Dennis Kucinich. There is no such beast here in the US, however, since this is not a perfect world (or even close to one).

    • I agree with you!

  • Kucinich is like chicken little. He lacks any sort of vision. If I had my rather, he should move to europe and be their representative.

  • Did you ever stop to think that as long as money and men are stuck in Iraq, the war maniacs in Washington will be less apt to go to war with Iran, Syria, N Korea, Cuba and whatever. Don’t forget, the USA is running low on men, money and morale while at the same time more and more people are getting wise to the Bush shenanigans- as proof of this look at the dropping Fox Network ratings today.A coup d’etat notwithstanding, if we can just hold on a little longer the whackos will be out of office looking for a real job.

  • Please dont give up Dennis. You are wiser than them. Surely wisdom and compassion can overule chaos and destruction. I still believe its a beautiful world. They will fall, I just pray to the Goddess above that they wont take the whole world down with them.

  • How much worse does it need to get before changes are made?

    How many more people have to die before someone admits to thier mistakes?

    How much longer will it go on until the citizens rise up against this?

  • talk about tiiming...tongue in cheek, "They" evacuate the Capitol rather than hear a long overdue proposal to evacuate Iraq

    poderpines in PA

  • Abolish the Pentagon NOW. It is a menace to the peace of the entire world............

    http://www.reformation.org/nuclear-tsunamis.html

  • As a NE Ohioan , I first became aware of Dennis Kucinich while a very young boy. My father pointed to him as a beacon of truth in our own world, when he stood up to local bankers trying to force him to sell Muny Light to their own interests. When he refused, they forced Cleveland into bankruptcy over $15 million, destroying this young mans chances for re-election as mayor. He has since been widely recognized for it in the community. Not the most eloquent politician, he speaks the plain truth, plainly, and challenges any lack of public honesty whenever he encounters it.

    His tireless efforts on behalf of the areas poor, homeless, and steel industry will forever be remembered by the local community, and my family in particular. As a vegan, he understands and rails against the threat posed to our lives and environment by the bio-tech industry, and will, as with all issues on which he stands, be found to be well studied and correct. He has never sold himself to special interests, making him unique among his peers in the halls of congress, or politics in general, and his longevity is a testament to us all that success is not based in compromise.

    I am proud to say that now, as a father and stepfather of 8 children, I have him to point to myself, as a beacon of truth and integrity, for my kids to emulate as best they can in their own lives. But, sadly, I have never voted for him, as I don’t live in his district, but EAGERLY pledge him my vote, and whatever effort I am capable, for the office of POTUS in 2008. It’s high time the American public had someone like him in that office, to restore OUR integrity.

    Thank you Dennis for all your effort, I can only IMAGINE how hard it must be.

    Steve Snowberger
    Akron, OHIO

  • u guys are stupid america is a great country president bush is doing the right thing.

    • America is a great country... But that doesn’t stop your president being a halfwitted, lying, warmonger who wouldn’t know the right thing if it smacked him in the head with a shovel.
      Can you not understand that this man has taken away all the things that made America great? Your freedoms - GONE. Your liberties - GONE. Your Democracy - GONE. Your moral authority - GONE. The presidents brain - MISSING.

  • Getting out of Iraq and ending its infamous policies of torture and prisoner abuse are the only hope the US has of redeeming its moral standing in the world. Remember how the whole world grieved with you after 9/11. How did the Bush administration take you from that to being the most despised and loathed nation on the planet?

    • The Americans have given Iraq nothing. Absolutely nothing. Pain, death and destruction at an unbelievable level. Who cares about improving the opinion of the world in the US. Who cares about dead American soldiers and the money it’s costing Americans. Good. Good. Good. Maybe they will wake up. Are Amercians prepared to pay the price of providing freedom let it be a huge price. Like in Vietnam. Like in Iraq. Vietnam was wrong. This war in Iraq is wrong. Those are the reasons for ending it. They have not given Iraq a chance to rebuild their country because nothing positive ever comes from these actions. The only leaders that would or could be positive in Iraq the Americans would never allow. This war had nothing to do with deposing a dictator. The Americans should get out of Iraq and stop the war and torture and abuse that is ingrained in their very history and culture.