Dodd challenges all presidential candidates to lead on ending war

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, gave an amazing speech last night in Iowa that discussed America's place in the world, the need to rebuild United States prestige in the wake of the George W. Bush presidency and the imperative to exit the Iraq civil war far sooner than later.

"Our policy is not only failing to make Iraq more secure. By sapping our military of its strength and America of its leadership in the world, the Bush/McCain policy has made America less secure," said Dodd of the ill-advised troop surge that has shown no results. "The hour is late. It is time to begin putting our country on a more secure path. The moment has arrived for leadership that stands up and announces without equivocation that prolonging this war will not make us more secure – ending it will."

Dodd, who was the first presidential candidate to endorse the Feingold-Reid bill to force Bush to withdraw all American troops from the Iraq quagmire by cutting off all funding for that effort in 2008, called on all other candidates to show similar leadership and announce support for the measure.

"Tonight, I am calling on all the candidates in this race to join me in clearly standing up to the President once and for all by stating their support for the Feingold-Reid legislation that sets a firm timetable to end this war by March 31st, 2008," said Dodd. "After more than 3,200 lives lost, tens of thousands wounded and $400 billion spent, it is time to bring an end to a war that at every turn has failed to make America safer."