When Will Our Troops Be Brought Home?
How Much Longer Will We Occupy Iraq?

Opposition to the war in Iraq began to increase shortly after the United States launched a unilateral, pre-emptive attack on that country. More Americans began to realize that this open-ended war was unnecessary, politically motivated and would consume an enormous amount of money and lives.

Echoing the growing anti-war sentiment, the AFL-CIO at its 2005 convention, called on the government to bring our soldiers home “as rapidly as possible.”

The war in Iraq was the dominant issue in the 2006 midterm election, which saw the Democrats gain control of Congress. Expecting favorable action, the AFL-CIO Executive Council on March 2007 called on the U.S. government to end its military involvement in Iraq. Jubilant Democrats were predicting that our soldiers would be home by Christmas 2007.

So here we are, five years after the start of the war, and the United States is still the real occupying power in Iraq. We have sacrificed the lives of 4,000 heroic men and women for a war that should never have taken place. More than 27,000 soldiers have been wounded, whose lives will forever be tormented by the trauma of war. We have spent many billions of dollars a month for each of the past 60 months, much of it producing little of value to the American people. Where and when will it all end?

The Democrats in Congress have defaulted on their promise to bring our troops home. They have approved every request by President Bush to pour still more funding into the Iraqi war effort. They have acknowledged that there is no chance that our troops will be brought home in 2008 because they don¹t have the votes to overcome Bush’s veto threats.

Senator John McCain, the Republican candidate for President, has injected a new dynamic into the Iraqi war debate, He says the U.S. must continue the war until it is victorious, “even it takes 100 years.” He has not defined his notion of victory precisely, but it would include an end to ethnic violence, the defeat of the “extremists” and “terrorists,” a stable national government and a viable economy.

McCain Says: Keep Fighting in Iraq Until We Win

McCain insists that America cannot afford to lose the war because it will become a prey to Islamic extremists and other despotic forces. If Democrats start dismantling the U.S. military, our enemies will take advantage of our weakness and move into Iraq and other turbulent parts of the world. We will then be forced to go back to Iraq and fight under greater odds.

This argument is having its effect with many top Democrats, as they see the “surge” working and hear reports about progress in curbing violence and some improvement in Iraqi living standards. They are being persuaded to hold off time-tables for troop withdrawals and, in the name of patriotism, give McCain’s “winning strategy” a chance.

What Should We Do? Continue the War in Iraq? Or Bring Our Troops Home?

This is a crucial issue that will be hotly debated, not only by presidential candidates, but by groups and individuals everywhere in the United States, recognizing that any proposed solution has its problems. So let me give you a scenario for discussion:

I believe the United States has done enough for the Iraqi people. We helped to remove their oppressor, Saddam, Hussein. We provided them with the greatest bodyguard in the world, 140,000 armed American soldiers. We helped them to become a sovereign state again and to set up a national government. We enabled Iraqi citizens to vote, most of them for the first time. We gave them billions of dollars to build homes, schools, electric systems, sewage disposal plants and other facilities. We sent thousands of instructors to train their army and their police force.

We have done more for the Iraqi people than we have done for any country whose citizens are suffering from an oppressive, cruel government. And we have done all this by denying those billions of dollars to help Americans who have lost their jobs or their homes or who can¹t afford health insurance. And we can never forget the 4,000 American soldiers who gave their lives so that Iraqis might have a brighter future.

So the United States is leaving Iraq. It is up to the Iraqi people to find some viable solution to their ethnic conflicts. We have given them all the help we can — even more than we can. We now intend to take care of our needs, as Iraqis must take care of theirs.

Do you agree with this scenario? Do you have a better solution? Do you want to see the situation in Iraq continue as it is today? Or don’t you care what happens?

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