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20 November 2006

I'm With Feingold: U.S. Out by July 1!

I’m still in mourning over Senator Russ Feingold’s decision not to run for the White House in 2008. The Unites States sorely needs a person of Feingold’s integrity and sense of principle in the Oval Office to make amends to the world and begin the cleanup of the disastrous mess left behind by the Toxic Texan, whom I expect to promptly flee to exile in Paraguay when his term ends.

Nonetheless, Senator Feingold remains a beacon of reason and hope for progressives everywhere, and I don’t think enough has been made of his simple, intelligent proposal to extract our country from the morass that is the Iraq War. The plan can be summed up in two words: let’s leave.

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold today introduced legislation requiring U.S. forces to redeploy from Iraq by July 1, 2007.

Is Feingold’s plan tantamount to “Cut ‘n’ Run?” Nope. It’s the only way to get the Iraqi government to stand on its own two feet. And we’ll continue to train Iraqi forces.
The legislation, which builds on an amendment Feingold authored earlier this year, would allow for a minimal number of U.S. forces to remain in Iraq for targeted counter-terrorism activities, training of Iraqi security forces, and the protection of U.S. infrastructure and personnel.

"Redeploying our troops will pressure the Iraqi government to get its political house in order while allowing us to re-focus on global terrorist organizations and trouble spots that threaten our national security,” Feingold said. “It simply doesn't make sense to continue devoting so much of our resources to one country while ignoring the growing threats we face around the world.”

Meantime, the United States can focus on what should have been job #1 all along: capturing or killing Usama bin Laden, the guy who attacked us on 9/11/01.
In September, Feingold also introduced a resolution addressing the need to strengthen our efforts in Afghanistan so as to prevent that country from again becoming a key staging ground for terrorists.

Presidential candidate or not, Senator Feingold’s plan deserves our attention, consideration and support. The troops deserve to be released from the impossible mission they’ve been asked to carry out, and directed to a more important one: fighting the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. And the Iraqis deserve the reduction in violence and increase in self-sufficiency and independence a US withdrawal would bring about. The only losers would be the neocon GOP war agenda and the military industrial complex...and for them we’ll shed no tears.

The bill is S.4049
Title: A bill to provide for the redeployment of United States forces from Iraq by July 1, 2007.
Sponsor: Sen Feingold, Russell D. [WI] (introduced 11/14/2006) Cosponsors (1) Sen. Barbara Boxer [Calif.]
Latest Major Action: 11/14/2006 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

2 Comments:

  • At November 27, 2006 10:27 PM, Blogger pecunium said…

    If he doesn't run, the issues he raises have more traction. Before the announcement, people (i.e. the pundit class) were declaring that what he was saying wasn't sincere, but rather posturing, to get the "radical left base" of the party to support him for president.

    Without that motive, the things he says have to be taken at face value, which makes them more powerful.

    TK

     
  • At November 29, 2006 9:29 AM, Blogger redglare said…

    I hope you're right, that he'll have more sway. Thanks for your comment!

     

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