It's Time

Two weeks ago, Aug. 19, Pennsylvania's Democratic candidate for the House, Joe Sestak, gave the Democratic Radio Address. In that address, Mr. Sestak said the following
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It is time for a new direction. It starts by speaking honestly with America about the true costs of Iraq, including to our security. There is no better military than ours: our men and women are a national treasure who have performed brilliantly-they always do. Now it's time for their mission to change. We must begin a phased redeployment of our forces so that we are prepared to face the security challenges we have worldwide.

The fact is, we are fostering a culture of dependence in Iraq. Iraqi leaders must be responsible for their own country. They must make the difficult political compromises that will stop the civil war and bring about stability. We cannot do this work for them.

It's time to start handing the security efforts in Iraq over to the Iraqis and for the U.S. military to begin pulling out. Not a total pull out. Despite what some in this country think, the U.S. will need to keep a military presence in that country for some time. But we've been holding their hand for three years now. If they want to get back on their feet and get their country back up and running they're going to have to start doing it themselves. Many operations are being carried out by the Iraqi military, with U.S. troops offering only a supporting role, but more could be. I still support this war and the president. I still believe he made the right move removing Saddam from power. That's never going to change. However, I think more than enough American troops have died. I've resisted a timetable in the past, but things change. By the beginning of next year Bush needs to start pulling some of our troops out. To say that we need to be there until they're able to handle it themselves is all well and good, I've been saying it for three years, but how long much longer do we stay? 5 years? 10 years? 15? They will be able to take control one day. I don't doubt that, but the longer we're holding them up the long it'll take. I'm not frustrated. I'm not one of these people who think it should take only a year or two, and get impatient if it isn't done when I think it should. This will be a decades long commitment. Nor do I care what the rest of the world thinks. But maybe us letting go some will be the kick in the pants they need.

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