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Joe Mallahan, Obama Delegate: My Policy Positions
United States out of Iraq |
The United States has invested more than 300,000 American lives, incurred 30,000 human casualties, and spent more than one trillion dollars in its invasion and 5-year presence in Iraq. I can understand why some say we need to stay to clean up the mess we made, but I believe any benefit we can bring to Iraq is far outweighed by the costs.
We must recognize that staying in Iraq, a country of just 40 million people, comes at the cost of doing good works at home and around the world. All indications are that we are ill-suited to assist the Iraqis further—the negative energy created by our presence there outweighs all positive intentions we may have in remaining. Perhaps more importantly, our actions in Iraq have actually strengthened the government of Iran, a government run by religious zealots who sponsor terrorism and have no regard for human rights.
The one trillion dollars we have spent in Iraq over the last 5 years equals:
- 3 times more than the federal government spent in the last 5 years on education for 76 million American students.
- 20 times more than the federal government spent in the last 5 years providing aid to all of the developing countries in the world.
- 40 times more than the federal government spent in the last 5 years on health insurance for low income children in the United States.
Barack Obama, as the only candidate who has consistently opposed the Iraq War, is best positioned to get the U.S. out of Iraq as soon as possible and get us re-focused on making real progress at home and abroad.
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