I'm sending a contribution to the Webb Campaign in honor of the US soldiers who have given their lives, who have suffered life-changing wounds, and who have spent years of their young adult lives in Iraq.
The most important cause of this campaign, in my opinion, is to elect a man who has his priorities straight with regard to this war. Jim Webb knows that leadership means taking care of your people. We need leadership who care about the soldiers that we send into harm's way.
Webb's ideas for moving soldiers out of Iraq and turning to diplomacy make more sense than "staying the course" or "standing down when they stand up." If we have no plans to leave Iraq, there isn't much incentive for the Iraqis in power to "stand up."
Victory in Iraq hinges upon Iraqi success in governing their country again. That is not a military objective. It is a political objective, requiring diplomacy.
Moving to find closure to the Iraqi invasion and occupation initiated by the Bush administration will help our country in many ways. It will save soldiers from endless insurgent attacks. It will improve our stature among the nations of the world. It is necessary for creating stability in the region. It will help stop the hemoraghing of the US budget, and to stabilize our economy.
None of those things can occur without good leadership, which is sorely lacking in Washington. Jim Webb has the experience, the vision, and the courage to provide the kind of leadership necessary to promote a reasonable plan for American troops to leave Iraq, and to leave it with a more hopeful future than the current US policies provide there.
There have been lots of reports in the campaign news lately that have very little to do with our top issue: Iraq. Jim Webb is not a single-issue candidate, but he has his priorities in order, and the first order of business is to address the problem with Iraq. I trust Webb to do a good job, and to make a real difference as a Senator.
Sept 23 (Reuters) - Following are security incidents and other developments in Iraq reported on Saturday, as of 1200 GMT.*BAGHDAD - A car bomb killed 26 people and wounded 29 others when it exploded in Baghdad's Shi'ite slum of Sadr City, police said.
*NAJAF - Gunmen shot dead Fadhil Abu Seybi, the head of a local tribe and a member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), a prominent Shi'ite party. Police said Abu Seybi was killed outside his home in the holy city of Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad.
*MAHMUDIYA - Police found five bodies bearing signs of torture and bullet wounds, in different parts of the small town of Mahmudiya just south of Baghdad, police said.
*NEAR KIRKUK - Police found the body of an Iraqi woman in a small river northwest of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, police said.
RASHAD - The body of a teenage boy was found dumped on a roadside in the small town of Rashad, 30 km (20 miles) southwest of Kirkuk. Police said the body had numerous gunshot wounds.
*BASRA - A U.S. contractor was killed on Friday as the result of a rocket attack in the southern Iraqi port city of Basra, the U.S. embassy said in a statement.