THE WARS IN

IRAQ AND
AFGHANISTAN
AND THE
WAR ON TERROR
THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON
TERROR

Michael Brennan’s Responses…………………………………….3

Mark Lawrence’s Responses………………………………………4

Chellie Pingree’s Responses……………………………………….5

Ethan Strimling’s Responses………………………………………..6

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THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON
TERROR

1. What do you perceive to be the root causes of terrorism?

Terrorism is a complex phenomenon and not easily explained,
but I do believe there are a set of factors at the root of it. Poverty
is clearly one of the major causes of terrorism. There is also a
significant amount of anger and frustration that people around
the world feel when they believe that their human rights are not
being respected by either their government or the most powerful
nations on earth. Religious intolerance is another significant
cause. In any particular case, it is likely that more than one of
these factors, as well as possibly others, are in play.

2. Do you support the war in Afghanistan? No.

3. Would you vote to continue to fund the war in Iraq? No.

4. Are you willing to introduce, co-sponsor and/or promote

legislation that would allow for the complete and
withdrawal of all U.S. troops, U.S. military bases and
military contractors hired by the U.S. government from
Iraq? Yes.

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THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON
TERROR

1. What do you perceive to be the root causes of terrorism?

Terrorism is a criminal act against domestic and international law
and cannot be tolerated in a humane society. Its root cause is the
intentional disregard of the sanctity of human life and the
resorting to criminal violence to achieve a political end. All
civilized nations must unite to reject terrorism and support the
respect for human life and social justice throughout the world.

2. Do you support the war in Afghanistan? America and other

members of the international community should support the
democratically elected government of Afghanistan and assist
them in preventing the re-establishment of a safe haven for al
Qaeda within its borders.

3. Would you vote to continue to fund the war in Iraq? No. I

believe Congress has made a crucial mistake in continuing to
fund the war. I would vote to de-fund the war because the
leverage Congress has is the power of the purse.

4. Are you willing to introduce, co-sponsor and/or promote

legislation that would allow for the complete and
withdrawal of all U.S. troops, U.S. military bases and
military contractors hired by the U.S. government from
Iraq? Yes, the War in Iraq should never have been authorized. If
elected, I will support – and would be willing to co-sponsor –
legislation that would end the war in Iraq now and would allow
for a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops, bases, and military
contractors from Iraq engaged in that war.

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THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON
TERROR

1. What do you perceive to be the root causes of terrorism?

This is a much discussed question in recent years, and with good
reason, as we’ve all worked our way through a post 9-11 world
and witnessed ongoing violence in several parts of the globe. At
its core, terrorism is viable due to a lack of economic opportunity
and social justice. It may at times be generated around religious
fundamentalism or in response to questionable U.S. policies, but
the reason is takes hold has more to do with deep, long-term
economic frustration.

2. Do you support the war in Afghanistan? Yes. The world

erred in allowing the Taliban to flourish, a military strike on
Afghanistan should have been our last option and we need to
support Afghan reconstruction efforts.

3. Would you vote to continue to fund the war in Iraq? No.

Please see my answer to the next question. I think that ending
the funding of the war in Iraq will prove to be the only way to
begin to remove our troops.

4. Are you willing to introduce, co-sponsor and/or promote

legislation that would allow for the complete and
withdrawal of all U.S. troops, U.S. military bases and
military contractors hired by the U.S. government from
Iraq? Yes. We must end the war now. Congress must stop
funding the war and rescind its authorization if the
administration refuses to make plans for immediate withdrawal,
including leaving no permanent bases behind. We can't continue
to squander our resources on the worst foreign policy mistake in
our country's history. Leaving will be complicated, but staying
only continues the tragic loss of our soldiers, Iraqi citizens, and
almost unthinkable amounts of money.

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THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON
TERROR

I also believe that while Congress and the President debate

whether we can "win" the war instead of how best to withdraw
our forces form Iraq with the least amount of damage, they are
irresponsibly prolonging this disaster. Instead, they should be
tackling the hard debate of what needs to be done next.

America must no longer be seen as an aggressor in the world.

We need to embrace a new foreign policy to restore our
reputation.

To this end, this spring I joined with Darcy Burner (a candidate

for Congress in Washington State,) and military and national
security experts like General Paul Eaton (US Army Ret.) to create
a comprehensive plan to end the war in Iraq and repair the
damage it has caused, at home and abroad. Since then more
than fifty US House and US Senate candidates and over 25,000
Americans have endorsed it.

The Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq builds off the work of
the Iraq Study Group and existing legislation in Congress and is
intended to accomplish three objectives:
1. End the military effort in Iraq and bring our troops home;
2. Begin to repair the damage five years of war and
occupation have caused, at home and abroad;

3. Prevent a repeat of this sort of epic and costly foreign

policy blunder in the future.

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THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON
TERROR

1. What do you perceive to be the root causes of terrorism?

Economic insecurity and cultural alienation.

2. Do you support the war in Afghanistan? No. I support

bringing Osama bin Laden to justice. In 2001 we invaded
Afghanistan in an effort to disrupt the Taliban and to avenge the
terrorist attacks of September 11th. Seven years later, the
Afghanistan/Pakistan border region remains a breeding ground
for Taliban, al-Qaida and other militant groups, Osama bin Laden
is still at large, and Afghanistan leads the world in poppy
production, accounting for 95 percent of the world’s crop.
Afghanistan is a country that has been in turmoil and war for the
last twenty years. Ethnic, religious, social, and geographic
difficulties have kept the country from forming into a strong
state. Insurgent violence is increasing in Afghanistan. It is time
to reexamine our military presence in Afghanistan; a successful
response to the threats of al-Qaida requires a multi-faceted
approach, not one that only relies on our military. Our
continued presence in Afghanistan will produce only limited
success and will come at a great cost, in terms of lives and for
the possibility of a stable, democratic future for the country.

3. Would you vote to continue to fund the war in Iraq? No. I

will not vote for any future funding for operations in Iraq that
doesn’t include a clear withdrawal date. To date the war has cost
American taxpayers over $500 billion dollars. For-profit
independent contractors who have been allowed to operate in
Iraq with little oversight or accountability have fleeced countless
millions of these dollars. The war continues to cost well over $10
billion dollars a month. Just think of what we could have done
here at home with that money.

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THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN AND THE WAR ON
TERROR

We cannot go on sacrificing the lives of American troops and

innocent Iraqi civilians. Even some of our most experienced
military experts and commanders now question our strategy and
goals in Iraq, whatever they may be. It is time to begin the total
withdrawal of our troops from Iraq in a safe and orderly manner.
We need to pursue a diplomatic solution, one that will not cause
the people of Iraq to suffer even more. We need to work to regain
America’s prestige and standing in the world, to once again
become the beacon of hope, opportunity and democracy. And we
need to bring our sons and our daughters home, now

4. Are you willing to introduce, co-sponsor and/or promote

legislation that would allow for the complete and
withdrawal of all U.S. troops, U.S. military bases and
military contractors hired by the U.S. government from
Iraq? Yes. The war in Iraq will go down in history as one of this
nation’s greatest military blunders. It didn’t have to be this way.
In February of 2003, six weeks before the first bombs fell on Iraq,
I introduced a resolution to the Maine Senate calling for a halt to
the impending attack and urging President Bush to pursue a
diplomatic, not a military, solution in Iraq. The Maine Senate
endorsed this resolution and became the first state legislative
body in the nation to take a stance against war in Iraq. I have
been against the war since before it began and I will work to
bring our troops home now.