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713 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-2854
(202) 228-4260 fax
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John C. Kluczynski Federal Office Building
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Chicago, Illinois 60604
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Springfield, Illinois 62701
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701 North Court Street
Marion, Illinois 62959
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Moline Office
1911 52nd Avenue
Moline, Illinois 61265
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Iraq

In October 2002, before being elected to the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama made a speech opposing the Bush Administration's plan to go to war in Iraq because he felt it was an ill-conceived venture which would "require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undermined cost, with undetermined consequences."

As a U.S. Senator, Senator Obama has continued to critique the Administration's mishandling of the war in Iraq, and believes that while our troops have done an outstanding job in Iraq, there can be no military solution to what is inherently a political conflict between Iraq's factions. Senator Obama has called for a responsible redeployment of our combat troops that pushes Iraq's leaders toward a political solution, rebuilds our military capability, and refocuses our resources on Afghanistan and our broader security interests. A residual force would remain in Iraq to target international terrorists, protect our service members and diplomats, and train and support Iraq's security forces as long as the Iraqis make political progress.

In January 2007, Senator Obama introduced the Iraq War De-escalation Act, which would have begun a redeployment of U.S. forces no later than May 1, 2007, with the goal of removing all combat brigades from Iraq by March 31, 2008, a date that was consistent with the expectation of the Iraq Study Group. Since this legislation was introduced, Senator Obama has continued to be a strong advocate for legislative actions that could bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end.

Senator Obama has also stressed the importance of holding private security contractors like Blackwater Worldwide accountable to ensure that their conduct is not jeopardizing our military's efforts to bring the war in Iraq to a responsible end. In February 2007, he introduced the Transparency and Accountability in Military and Security Contracting Act to require accountability and enhanced congressional oversight for personnel performing private security functions under federal contracts. Components of this bill that require new reporting on the role of contractors operating in Iraq and new regulations on selection, training, and equipping of security contractors were signed into law as part of the FY08 National Defense Authorization Act. Senator Obama is working to pass other components of the bill to increase accountability of security contractors operating in war zones by subjecting them to U.S. criminal law.

Speeches


Senator Obama has laid out his views on the war and how America's involvement in Iraq needs to change in a number of speeches and statements.