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Los Angeles County, CA June 6, 2006 Election
Smart Voter

Let's Bring Our Troops Home From Iraq

By Charles R. "Chuck" Coleman, Jr.

Candidate for United States Representative; District 28; Democratic Party

This information is provided by the candidate
The Iraq invasion was based on a lie. It was wrong to go in and it is wrong to stay in.
Our ongoing operations and incidents of so-called 'collateral damage' are responsible for thousands of dead and injured Iraqis. And, on top of that, people are suffering from inadequate supplies of water, electricity and fuel. And as long as we continue to occupy the country, the feelings of hostility and bitterness towards Americans will fester.

Iraq has become a hotbed for recruiting new terrorists.

Each day this war continues, so too will the anguish of American families over the dead and seriously wounded U.S. soldiers. And for what? We're less safe now than we've ever been. Countries that felt compassion for us on 9-11 now see us as a heartless, soulless, war-mongering bully.

The fact of the matter is the vast majority of the American people would like our troops to come home. Most Iraqis want us out. Most of our military(72%), according to a Feb/06 Zogby poll, believe it would be the best coarse to have them returning home before the year is over.

It is high time our leadership considered the will of the people.

The only Americans benefiting from this war are the friends of Dick Cheney and corporations who have managed to cut multibillion dollar deals. We need to deliver to them a message that they need to find another way to get wealthier.

We must now take the initiative to get ourselves out of Iraq and end the occupation. That means changing the leadership in Congress by electing representatives who vow not to spend another nickel on the war. It means writing editorials and calling TV & radio stations. It means supporting military personnel who become conscientious objectors, and their families.

Our efforts must be relentless. Many of us would like to focus our attention on education, health care and/or other social and economic concerns, but constant attention must be on ending this war. As long as we continue to spend billions on Iraq budgets at home will be severely strained.

We must come to the realization that there will be no positive ending in Iraq. However, we can put an end to the suffering.

First, we must pull out all of our troops from Iraq. The other options of staying the course or increasing the troop numbers only guarantee we'll be there for years to come.

Simultaneous with the troop withdrawal, UN peacekeepers or another international force(Arab League) should move in to assist with the rebuilding and reparation process. All U.S. private contracts should be terminated. To the extent of damages where we're directly responsible, the cost of the reparations to the families of innocent Iraqis should be borne by the U.S..

This will all be very difficult to do, but we don't have much choice here. We need to send a message to the world that America is ready to start using its power to promote peace by nonviolent means. Our future as a central part of the world community can be built on a foundation of good will and cooperation.

We live in a world with a global economy now. From a practical business perspective, it makes more sense to maintain friendly relationships with your trading partners - other countries. That's how you go about reducing the threat of terrorism.

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ca/state Created from information supplied by the candidate: April 29, 2006 22:28
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