Plunderbund

(via email) I hear the news conference went well and this should get some pretty good coverage. Gotta get my reserved Shamansky shirt! I get more and more excited about this guy.

Candidate is Joined by Military Families at Bexley War Memorial

Columbus: Former Congressman Bob Shamansky, candidate for The United State’s House of Representatives in Ohio’s 12th congressional district called for an end to the Iraq war today. Speaking at the Bexley War Memorial on Drexel Circle, Shamansky was joined by members of Military Families Speak Out - an organization of parents and family of servicemen and servicewomen opposed to the Bush Administration’s Iraq policy.

Shamansky praised those in military service, and called for an end the war in Iraq, saying:

“Our troops have fought bravely, done everything asked of them, and have accomplished everything that can be accomplished militarily.

The time has come to bring our troops home – as quickly as their safe withdrawal will allow. This time, we must listen to the generals and military experts. We cannot allow politicians to set the time table to political reasons.”

Military Families Speak Out is a national organization, representing more than 3,000 families nationwide that have family members who are a part of our nation’s armed services.

Bob Shamansky is a lifelong Central Ohio resident, local businessman, and lawyer. He is a Korean War veteran, and former United States Congressman who is seeking election in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District.

Full text of Fmr. Congressman Shamansky’s remarks after the break.

Prepared Remarks

Today I join with all Ohioans in honoring the military veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our country – including my cousin Richard Green, who is remembered on this very monument–and in thanking the brave men and women in uniform who are serving today in the Armed Services of our nation.

On this Memorial Day, I am especially honored to be here with Blue Star mothers Mona Parsons, who’s son is at war in Iraq with the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, and Teresa Dawson whose son, Spc. Christopher Stentz has recently returned from Baghdad.

As a partially disabled army veteran myself, I know what it’s like to answer the call of duty and that service in the military can have serious personal consequences. Military service is something that is not foreign to my family. My father served in World War I and World War II, my bother and uncles in World War II, and I served in the Korean War.

But on this Memorial Day, it is not enough simply to be happy for Spec. Stenz and to wish Ms. Parson’s son god-speed and a safe return.

On this Memorial Day, we must ask whether the time has come to pull American troops out of Iraq and bring them home.

The question is not whether or not we should have gone to war with Iraq in the first place. The question is what do we do now?

Like most Americans, I initially supported the war —because I believed the President and Secretary of State Powell that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and posed a threat to our national security. Having served as a Special Agent in the Army’s Counter Intelligence Corp, I couldn’t imagine starting a war without the most accurate intelligence.

But in the 3 years since we went to war, we have learned that none of the reasons given to justify our invasion are true….not a single one of them.

We know now that Iraq had no Weapons of Mass Destruction.

We know now that Iraq had nothing whatsoever to do with the 9-11 terrorist attack on our country.

And we know now that prior to the war, Iraq had no ties to Osama bin Laden or the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

It is true, of course, that Saddam Hussein was a dictatorial butcher who brutalized his own people.

It is also true that the world is a better place now that he is no longer in power.

But those were not the reasons we went to war —and they are not the reasons why congress and the American people supported the war.

And now that we have suffered 2466 American dead, another 17,869 American casualties, and spent at least $300 billion dollars to boot, the time has come to ask whether we should continue the war under the present leadership.

The Bush administration says we must “stay the course” and that “when the Iraqis stand up, we can stand down.”

But what, exactly, does that mean?

It means that the President believes US troops should stay until Iraq gets things right and defeats all insurgent forces and terrorist groups —-however long it takes.

In other words, the President is asking for an open-ended commitment of American lives and American money —for a vaguely defined outcome of a “Democratic Iraq.”

We are told that if we pull our troops out now, civil war will be the result.

But there is already civil war —and reports on the ground indicate that most Iraqi army units are no closer to being able to stand on their own now than they were before.

In fact, experts say that Iraqi army and police forces are so infiltrated by armed thugs, private militias, insurgent sympathizers, and sectarian death squads that it is completely unrealistic to believe anything can be turned over to them any time soon.

In the meantime, our troops are sitting ducks —and their very presence has become a rallying cry for disparate factions whose only common cause is that they want us gone and our occupation to end, and on top of that, the situation in Afghanistan is now deteriorating.

I am running for Congress in the 12th Congressional District because I believe America needs a change in policy and a new direction.

I know our troops have fought bravely, done everything asked of them, and have accomplished everything that can be accomplished militarily.

Therefore, I believe the time has come to bring our troops home as quickly as their safe withdrawal will allow.

But this time, we must listen to the generals and the military experts.

This time, we cannot allow the politicians to set the time-table or to make decisions for political reasons.

This time, Congress should set the policy —but let the military tell us how best to accomplish it.

So let there be no mistake and no misunderstanding. If I am elected to congress, I will vote to end the war in Iraq —and to bring our troops home as quickly as the military experts tell us is safely possible.

But let me also say one last thing.

I know that many well-meaning and patriotic Americans wonder if pulling out of Iraq would dishonor the sacrifice of those who have already been killed or wounded… They are rightly concerned that those who died —and the families they left behind —not come to believe that the sacrifice of their loved ones was in vain.

I share those concerns as well. So let me address them this way:

There is never dishonor in serving your country —and the sacrifices that are made in the line of duty are never in vain.

In any war, there will unfortunately be troops who are killed and wounded. But that reality should never be used as the justification for accepting new and even greater casualties if the reason for continuing the war no longer holds.

So let us all continue to support our brave troops whose sense of patriotic duty led them to answer the call —and let that support be apparent not just on bumper stickers and yard-signs, but also in making sure they get the services and benefits they deserve once they come home.

As for those who died or were gravely wounded, let us resolve that their sacrifice shall never be forgotten, for it is and has been in the best tradition of military and patriotic service.