Paul Johnson: “The Iraq war was a tragic mistake”
In a Tuesday morning press conference at the Mason City Public Library, Paul Johnson,
Democratic candidate for Congress in Iowa's Congressional District 4,
called for a phased withdrawal of troops from Iraq by the end of 2005
following Iraqi elections, saying he believes a U.S. contingent should
remain in Iraq as part of an international peacekeeping force.
“We
should assist Iraq through its upcoming elections and then turn Iraq
back over to Iraqis. The Iraq war was a tragic mistake,” said Johnson.
“The Iraq war has played directly into Al-Qaeda's hands by providing
them with a new training camp in which to attack Americans. It has
corrupted our image in the Muslim world. It has driven thousands of new
recruits into extremist Islamic groups and undermined the support of
moderates in the Arab world whose friendship we need.”
“The
American public was told that we must send troops to Iraq because their
alleged weapons of mass destruction posed an imminent threat.” said
Johnson. “Eighteen months have passed and we still have not found such
weapons. Yet today our President says even knowing what we now know, he
still would have made the decision to send our troops into war. In
other words, even though the pretense for waging a preemptive war was
false, it doesn't matter to the current administration.”
“We
must commit to restoring trust and friendship with the world community.
We will not have national security until we do. To begin this journey
to normalcy, we must extricate ourselves from Iraq. To accomplish this,
America must elect John Kerry as our new commander-in-chief on November
2nd. He is our only hope for bringing in international assistance to
help build a stable, democratic Iraq.”
“It's
time for us to unclench our fists, extend a hand to the world community
and get on with not only being the world's strongest nation, but the
world's most caring and giving nation as well,” said Johnson. “Only
then will we have a chance for real, long-term national and world
security.”
Johnson outlined a broad foreign policy platform that includes:
· Cooperation with the world community toward peaceful resolution of conflicts
· Creation of a Palestinian state
· Normalization of relations with Cuba
· Restored Congressional authority to wage war
· Increased efforts with world community to stabilize Afghanistan
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