This list needs amending

[ProSense]

Positions of American Political Leaders

Iraq: Finding a Responsible Exit
Marty Meehan. Speech at Brookings Institution, 25 January 2005.

Woolsey Calls for U.S. Soldiers to Come Home
Lynn Woolsey. House Congressional Resolution #35, 26 January 2005.

America's Future In Iraq
Edward M. Kennedy. Speech at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, 27 January 2005.

Time for an Exit Strategy
Ralph Nader, Kevin Zeese and Virginia Rodino, 22 February 2005.

More Thoughts on Exit Strategy
Tom Hayden. TomHayden.com, 2005.

The Kucinich Plan to Bring Our Troops Home
Dennis Kucinich. Statement, 16 June 2005.

Republican Senator Says U.S. Needs Iraq Exit Strategy Now
Josh Meyer. Los Angeles Times, 22 August 2005. Posted on the Common Dreams website.

Time Frame For U.S. Military Mission in Iraq
Russ Feingold. Congressional Record Statement, 25 October 2005.

Tom Daschle's Remarks at Northwestern University
Tom Daschle. New Leadership for America, 2 November 2005.

Strategy for Success in Iraq Act
John F. Kerry. Resolution introduced in U.S. Senate, 10 November 2005.

Winning The War In Iraq
John McCain. Speech at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 10 November 2005.

The Right Way in Iraq
John Edwards. Washington Post, 13 November 2005.

War in Iraq
John P. Murtha. Statement, 17 November 2005.

Turning the Corner in Iraq
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, 21 November 2005.

Letter to Constituents on Iraq Policy
Hillary Rodham Clinton. 29 November 2005.

National Strategy for Victory in Iraq
George W. Bush. White House, 30 November 2005.

The Next Iraq Offensive
Wesley K. Clark. The New York Times, 06 December 2005.

Next Steps for Successful Strategy in Iraq
Joe Lieberman. Remarks at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment, 06 December 2005.

Two Deadlines and an Exit
John F. Kerry. The New York Times, 05 April 2006. Posted on the Common Dreams website.

http://www.comw.org/pda/0512exitplans.html#politicians

Suggested additions:

Text: Kerry Lays Out Iraq Plan
eMediaMillWorks
Monday, September 20, 2004; 12:10 PM
Following is the text of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's speech delivered in New York.

Snip...

Again, I repeat, every month that's gone by, every offer of help spurned, every alternative not taken for these past months has made this more difficult and those were this president's choices. But even countries that refused to put boots on the ground in Iraq ought to still be prepared to help the United Nations hold an election.

We should also intensify the training of Iraqis to manage and guard the polling places that need to be opened. Otherwise, U.S. forces will end up bearing that burden alone.

If the president would move in this direction, if he would bring in more help from other countries to provide resources and to train the Iraqis to provide their own security and to develop a reconstruction plan that brings real benefits to the Iraqi people, and take the steps necessary to hold elections next year, if all of that happened, we could begin to withdraw U.S. forces starting next summer and realistically aim to bring our troops home within the next four years.

That can achieved.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A35515-2004Sep20?language=printer

06/28/2005
John Kerry Speaks Out on Iraq, Details Concrete Steps President Must Take to Rescue the Mission

John Kerry went to the Senate floor this afternoon to offer a concrete set of steps the President needs to take to rescue the mission in Iraq, get it right, and deal with a series of mistakes that have brought us to this point. The remarks that follow are as prepared

“Getting it right also means putting together a real plan for the training of Iraqi troops and following through on it. This should be our top priority. It’s the key to getting our troops home and avoiding a humiliating withdrawal. It’s time to move beyond fudging the numbers and finally put the training of Iraqi troops on a true six-month wartime footing, which includes ensuring the Iraqi government has the budget necessary to deploy them. It’s also time to stop using the in-country training requirement as an excuse for refusing offers made by Egypt, Jordan, France and Germany to do more. Why would we turn down this opportunity to give our troops the relief they deserve?

“Getting it right also means drawing up a detailed plan with the clear milestone of transfer of military and police responsibilities to Iraqis after the December elections. The Administration’s plan should take into account both political and security objectives, including Iraqi force structure, and be specifically tied to a defined series of tasks and accomplishments. This plan must be more than dates and numbers - it must make clear to the Iraqi government that American patience is limited.

http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=239696&

June 28, 2005
The Speech the President Should Give
By JOHN F. KERRY
http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/headlines/pdf/kerry_6_28_05_New_York_times.pdf

10/26/2005
Senator John Kerry Lays Out Path Forward in Iraq
If Administration Acts Responsibly, We Can Stabilize Iraq and Reduce Combat Forces With Successful December Elections, Draw Down 20,000 Troops by the End of 2005
http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=247764&

[karynnj]

1. I understand your position

Especially the first one is needed, because there is so much disinfomation on the campaign position.

If they won't it may be that they are looking at current position. Kerry is the only one listed twice, likely because the Oct 2005 proposal and the current one are logically related. I'm glad they have this at all because it is a source for what many people have said - that is sometimes at variance with what their supporters say.

[ProSense]

3. Sigh!

At least it's a recommendation to read the speech.

Democrats Who are Speaking Out Against the War
by Steven D
Mon Apr 24th, 2006 at 08:10:02 AM EST

No, there hasn't been a tidal wave of Dem voices, but there are some important Democrats who are demanding we leave Iraq. John Murtha was the first, and still the most frequently outspoken Democratic politician to call for a withdrawal from Iraq, but lately he has been joined by another prominent Democrat in the Senate: John Kerry.
I know many of us have been critical of Mr. Kerry for failing to make leaving Iraq the centerpiece of his campaign in 2004 (I know I was), but lately he has begun to call bullshit on our entire policy in Iraq, and for that I salute him. Many of you have no doubt heard of his demand that we pull our troops out of Iraq within a year at the latest, but perhaps you haven't read yet the speech he gave at Faneuil Hall in Boston last week.

Well, you should (excerpts below):

more...

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2006/4/24/8102/27188

[sandnsea]

2. Woolsey's resolution - details, details

This is where I get irked, when you look at what is actually written down on paper, it's never a blanket "out now". And look at this, Woolsey says the President has to develop a plan, how many times does Kerry get bashed for using that language.

Anyway, this really isn't much different than what most Democrats have supported all year. I would hope these people know that the UN doesn't send peacekeepers into war zones, and that the UN probably wouldn't have enough peacekeepers without US troops anyway.

Otherwise, get Iraqi's handling their own security, better reconstruction efforts, regional diplomacy. How is that out now and stop interfering in Iraq. Every time I've looked at a plan from any "out now" politicians, that's what it's been for 3 years now.


Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the President should--

(1) develop and implement a plan to begin the immediate withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq;

(2) develop and implement a plan for reconstructing Iraq's civil and economic infrastructure;

(3) convene an emergency meeting of Iraq's leadership, Iraq's neighbors, the United Nations, and the Arab League to create an international peacekeeping force in Iraq and to replace United States Armed Forces in Iraq with Iraqi police and Iraqi National Guard forces to ensure Iraq's security; and

(4) take all steps necessary to provide the Iraqi people with the opportunity to completely control their internal affairs.