Iraq

When elected to Congress, I pledge to bring home America's troops from Iraq as quickly and safely as possible. The war in Iraq, from its inception, has been poorly planned and poorly executed by George Bush and his administration.

Rather than secure Afghanistan and capture Osama Bin Laden as he so publicly promised, George Bush chose to plunge into an unnecessary war that has cost the United States the lives of over 4,000 American soldiers and more than 60,000 wounded.

Despite the brave efforts of our men and women in uniform, the cost of this war has proven unsustainable. Current estimates state that the war will cost approximately $12 billion a month in 2008 as the war in Iraq enters it's sixth year.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the projected cost of the two wars is forecast to reach between $1.2 trillion to $1.7 trillion by the year 2017, with Iraq accounting for nearly three-quarters of those costs.

This ill-conceived war has stretched the U.S. military to a dangerous breaking point, threatening our nation's future safety, tarnished America's image in the eyes of our foreign allies and drained our national coffers.

Upon election to Congress, my first priority will be to join other like-minded Democrats in crafting a common sense solution that brings our troops home safely, minimizing casualties and returning sovereign authority to a democratically elected government in Iraq.