To the Editor:
The Petreaus and Crocker testimonies before Congress include plans for the withdrawal of some military personnel from Iraq. But, these plans also call for a large American military presence many years into the future. Long-term military occupation of Iraq is not the solution to a failed war policy. Like preemptive war, it is a bad precedent.
Last year, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group delivered a report in which it outlined steps that should be taken: a firm commitment for the withdrawal all U.S. troops from Iraq; full support for regional diplomatic negotiations with all of Iraq's neighbors; and a commitment to assist in rebuilding a country that U.S. military actions have helped to destroy. I hope that U.S. Sens. John Warner (R) and Jim Webb (D) will support The Iraq Study Group Implementation Act, legislation that would act on the Study Group's recommendations: legislation that can bring a real end to the Iraq war.
Barbara Ginsburg
Springfield