Military says ‘Best Option. . . Leave Iraq Immediately’

Twelve former army captains wrote a letter yesterday calling for the U.S. to leave Iraq. They described what they saw in Iraq as “widespread corruption and sectarian division,” and explained that conditions on the ground were “deplorable.”

The army captains proclaimed that “the U.S. military has been trying in vain to hold the country together,” and noted that there are not enough troops to “meet the professed goals.”

The captains then concluded the letter with this recommendation:

“There is one way we might be able to succeed in Iraq. To continue an operation of this intensity and duration, we would have to abandon our volunteer military for compulsory service. Short of that, our best option is to leave Iraq immediately. A scaled withdrawal will not prevent a civil war, and it will spend more blood and treasure on a losing proposition.”

It should come as little surprise then that the only Republican candidate that is getting a significant amount of financial support from the troops is Ron Paul, the anti-war candidate. Recent numbers show that Ron Paul has received more campaign contributions from individuals employed by the military than any other Republican candidate, by a wide margin.

Its also interesting that Hillary Clinton is receiving the majority of the contributions from people employed by defense companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop-Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics—companies who will profit from continued war. Are they betting on the fact that Hillary will keep us in Iraq?