26 December 2008

Let's not forget Iraq

We voted for Obama because we wanted to have some hope for the economy and the U.S. job market.

We voted for Obama because we want universal health care.

But while these issues seem to dominate the political dialogue these days, we must not lose sight of one of the other primary reasons why we voted for Obama: We voted for Obama because he promised to end the Iraq war right away and bring our troops home within a 16-month timeframe.

But now I am reading that Obama has promised Maliki that he will honor Bush's security agreement with Iraq, which could keep our troops there through 2011.

That agreement was not sanctioned by Congress, and a bill recently introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee cites many good reasons why Bush's agreement with Iraq is unconstitutional.

I hope that Obama will either rethink his timetable or else offer good reason why he should propagate Bush's Iraq policies.

After all, while casualties have decreased, people still are dying in Iraq as a result of our occupation. In fact we lost 14 U.S. troops in Iraq in October, 17 in November, and 10 so far in December, according to icasualties.org. If that does not seem like a lot, tell that to the families of our dead soldiers.

We must hold Obama accountable for ending this war as soon as possible.

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