The Founding Fathers made their intent clear, Congress, not the President has the constitutional authority to declare war. The United States should not be fighting in any war that is not declared and, under no circumstances, should the US go to war based on a resolution passed in the United Nations Security Council. I believe in a strong national defense and maintaining our current level of military readiness. I am committed to securing our nation, preventing terrorist from harming our citizens and tracking down those who promote terrorism. Congress gave President Bush Carte Blanche to proceed without a Declaration of War. They surrendered their constitutional responsibility and authority. As a result of their actions, we are committed and must proceed with caution when planning for any action, including troop drawdowns, without a proper threat assessment. To take arbitrary action can worsen the terrorist threat to the US domestically and citizens traveling internationally. Afghanistan - Increasing feet on the ground in Afghanistan is a step in the right direction and is allowing us to reverse Taliban advances. We should bring our troops home as soon as possible, however, now is not the time to withdraw from the county based on an arbitrary timetable. A timetable based withdrawal will cause the Taliban to pull back, go underground, wait it out and resurface when we leave, regaining control of the country and turning it into a breeding ground for terrorist. All troop draw downs need to be based on ground conditions, threat assessments and feedback from our military commanders. We made a mistake in 2003 by diverting our commander’s attention and troop deployment to Iraq, thereby, letting the Taliban and terrorist regain a foothold in the country. We must not make the same mistake again. We must provide our men and women in uniform with the resources needed to perform the task at hand; preventing Afghanistan from once again becoming a training ground for terrorists. The administration must do a better job of strengthening the coalition by ensuring NATO members understand the dangers associated with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda regaining a foothold in Afghanistan. Afghanistan must never again become a training ground for terrorists; however, we must not bear total responsibility and cost for this effort. IRAQ –The troop surge in Iraq has succeeded in turning the tide both politically and militarily. I want to bring our troops home as soon as possible, however, I no longer support a time table based withdrawal. Our military leaders are best equipped to make that decision. As in Afghanistan, we need to put political pressure on the Iraqi government to ensure they continue to move towards uniting all factions to establish a stable and strong democracy with limited assistance from the United States. However, we must remember, democracy in Iraq will never resemble democracy in the United States. The US and our allies need to bring a responsible end to their involvement in Iraq, in a manner that protects all troops, the people of Iraq, and the stability of the Middle East. Every country in the world has a stake in the establishment of a stable, productive and peaceful Iraqi state because of its’ geographic and strategic location in the Middle East. Pulling all troops out before a stable government is in place will have a negative impact on the entire region and a negative impact on the security of the United States. IRAN - We must continue pressuring the United Nations to stand firm and enforce all economic sanctions against Iran. We must stand united and deliver the message that the international community will not stand for non-compliance. We must be cautious in our dealings with Iran for they now pose one of the biggest threats to the stability of the Middle East. We must verify and re-verify all intelligence to ensure that we do not make the same mistake we did in Iraq and act upon faulty intelligence. We must not take military action off the table; however, a non-military solution to the issue will go a long way in stabilizing the region. ### |