NM-03: Wiviott Endorses "A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq"

Darcy Burner, Dem Congressional candidate in WA-08, and Major General Paul Eaton worked together, with input from other distinguished experts, to produce "A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq." The plan was unveiled at the recent Take Back America Conference in Washington DC. Its supporters are encouraging candidates for U.S. House and Senate seats and others to band together and formally endorse the plan so they can be on the record about the policies they support to end the Iraq occupation and change course to a more rational policy in the region. In this way, the grassroots/netroots can target support to candidates who are willing to demonstrate their commitment to bringing our troops home in an expeditious manner and working to make meaningful diplomacy and green energy intiatives top priorities.

Here's a list of the endorsers of the plan to date. Activists around the nation are being urged to submit the plan to U.S. House and Senate candidates in their districts and request their endorsements. NM-03 candidate Don Wiviott is the first New Mexican candidate to sign on. His campaign released the following statement today about his decision to support the plan:

Today, Don Wiviott officially joined 41 other congressional challengers across the country and endorsed “A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq,” a comprehensive, 36 page document endorsed by Major General Paul Eaton, Dr. Lawrence Korb (Asst. Secretary of Defense under President Reagan), Brigadier General John Johns and Captain Larry Seaquist (former Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy Planning). The plan has also been endorsed by a 37 U.S. House candidates and 4 U.S. Senate candidates.

Endorsing the plan, Don Wiviott said, “It's time to bring George Bush and Dick Cheney's foreign policy disaster to a responsible end. Make no mistake about it - fixing the quagmire that Bush, Cheney and the Washington Republicans created won't be easy. But with this plan, we have a thoughtful and responsible approach to bring our troops home, promote stability in Iraq, deal with the humanitarian crisis and take care of our troops when they come home. I’m pleased to endorse this comprehensive and responsible plan to bring the war in Iraq to an honorable end.”

Joining Wiviott in endorsing the plan is Major General Paul Eaton. From 2003 – 2004, Major General Eaton served in Baghdad and was charged with rebuilding the Iraqi army. He said, “What we’re after with this plan is a means of responsibly concluding the military war in Iraq... I’m proud of this document and the people that produced it.”

In Congress, Wiviott will work with America’s military leaders and fight for legislation that keeps our troops safe and restores America’s strength on the international stage. Wiviott will stand up to the Bush Republicans that seek to continue a failed strategy in Iraq costing lives and untold billions.

The Responsible Plan endorsed by Wiviott includes the following major components:

End U.S. military action in Iraq. There is no military solution in Iraq. Our current course unacceptably holds U.S. strategic fortunes hostage to events in Iraq that are beyond our control; we must change course. Using diplomatic, political, and economic power, we can responsibly end the war and removing all of our troops from Iraq.

Leverage U.S. Diplomatic Power. Much of the remaining work to be completed in Iraq requires the effective use of diplomatic power. Many of Iraq's neighbors are currently contributing to instability and need to be persuaded to assist instead in stabilization.

Address Humanitarian Crisis. The humanitarian crisis caused by Iraq's situation is destabilizing to the region and damaging to America's moral credibility. We must both take responsibility for the Iraqis who are now endangered because of their assistance to the U.S. and begin to address the regional problems of displaced Iraqis.

Restore Our Military. Repairing the damage done to our military will require reforms in contracting procedures, restoring benefits for members of the military and veterans, and investment in repairing or replacing damaged military equipment.

Move America Toward Energy Independence. Finally, we are clearly tied to Iraq through our dependence on oil, which makes us vulnerable. Moving away from that dependence is necessary for strategic, economic, and environmental reasons.

For a full copy of the plan, visit www.responsibleplan.com/plan.