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 Editorials | Issues | December 2007 
Richardson Outlines His Plan for Ending the War
 BYLINE
| | Richardson says all his goals as president hinge on getting American troops out of Iraq within his first year as president. |
Approximately 75 area residents turned out Friday to hear New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson speak at the Jasper County Community Center. This was the fourth time Richardson has visited Iowa during his presidential campaign, and this time he took the opportunity to outline his plan for ending the war in Iraq, and emphasize his commitment to affordable, quality behavioral health care for all Americans. Richardson says all his goals as president hinge on getting American troops out of Iraq within his first year as president.
“I am passionate about ending the war,” Richardson said. “About using diplomacy to build political consensus among the three groups in Iraq. America has spent $500 billion on the war. With that we could have had universal health care, we could have improved our schools and our educational system and had an American economy on our side. So, ending the war is essential.”
To remove all troops within a year would allow the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own country, he believes. Iraq’s crisis is a political one, and a ‘surge of diplomacy’ is needed to bring the three Iraqi factions together, and forming a coalition of donor nations to aid in reconstruction. A full-time peace negotiator to the Middle East would also be a component of a Richardson presidency, and he is committed to the creation of a Palestinian state.
The human toll of the war is a tragedy as well, he said, with nearly 3,900 Americans dead and another 60,000 wounded, the government has underfunded the Veterans Administration system.
“As president, I will keep my commitment to our veterans,” Richardson said. “If we’re sending our men and women to war, at least we should be on their side.”
Richardson said that many soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq are coming home with mental health problems including post traumatic stress disorders, and as president he would provide high-quality behavioral health care for active duty military, as well as veterans, National Guard and reservists, by funding for more doctors and more research. Outreach programs to prevent suicide also would be a part of his plan.
In response to questions from the audience, Richardson said that as president, he would:
• Eliminate the No Child Left Behind system for improving schools. “It hurts everybody,” he said. He would also increase the starting salaries for teachers to about $40,000 per year, and place more emphasis in schools on science and math.
• Curb illegal immigration by adding more detection equipment for a more secure border with Mexico; punish companies who knowingly hire illegals; and talk to Mexican officials in an effort to help them increase job opportunities; and create a path to legal citizenship which includes learning English, paying back taxes and fines, pass a background check, and making an effort to integrate into our culture.
• Work to create ‘jobs of the future,’ such as careers in biofuels, biomedicine, research and ‘green’ technology.
• Eliminate the trade embargo with Cuba. “It’s not working,” he said.
• Stop torturing our enemies. Richardson said torture does not produce useful results, it is immoral, and it puts our own soldiers on the battlefield at greater risk of being mistreated by the enemy.
Richardson said he believes that bipartisanship is a necessary trait for the next president, and that he can work with both parties. He said he has considerable experience, not only as governor but as an American ambassador and as Secretary of Energy, to work with domestic as well as world leaders.
“We need to look at who’s electable,” he said. “I believe that I am.” |
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