Patrick Murphy Delivers Democratic Radio Address
Patrick Murphy, Democratic Congressional candidate in Pennsylvania's 8th district, delivers this week's Democratic Radio Address. In his remarks, Murphy criticizes the Bush Administration's open-ended commitment to failed foreign policies. Democrats offer a new direction for America's security that is both tough and smart.
To listen to his remarks, click here.
Good morning. This is Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania.
13 years ago, I wore the uniform of the United States Army for the first time. Over the following ten years, I rose through the ranks to become a Captain and a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne division.
When 9/11 happened it changed all our worlds and it changed mine.
On September 12th, I walked into my Commander's office at West Point and volunteered to join a combat unit. Within eight months I deployed to Bosnia. A year later I deployed to Baghdad.
I have seen first hand the right and wrong way to engage in war, and it’s clear that President Bush and this Republican Congress have it wrong. In Baghdad in 2003, I ran conveys up and down Ambush Alley in a Humvee without doors. 19 men in my unit never came home.
Now, more than three years after George Bush declared "mission accomplished," my fellow soldiers continue to die in Iraq without a clear mission, without benchmarks to determine success, and without a clear timeline for coming home.
Just yesterday, Anthony, a young Marine from Bucks County who was injured in Falluja and whose two best friends were killed in Iraq this past week, walked into my office and asked how he could help.
You see, Anthony, like most Americans, knows if we are going to keep American families safe we need a new direction. We need to implement all of the recommendations of the 9/11 commission. We need to capture and kill Osama bin Laden. And above all, we need to start bringing our troops home from Iraq and refocus on the real War on Terror.
Even our own national intelligence agencies have told us that the open-ended commitment in Iraq has made us less safe. Yet instead of changing course and implementing a real plan to win the War on Terror, President Bush and my opponent taunt patriotic Americans with phrases like "cut and run" and "stay the course." "Staying the course" isn't a strategy; it's a slogan. And leaving our troops in the middle of a civil war isn't resolute; it's reckless.
Under President Bush and this Republican Congress's watch, our country has become less safe - both domestically and abroad. We have seen the number of terrorist attacks increase around the world. We have seen North Korea and Iran - two members of the President's axis of evil - enhance their nuclear weapons capabilities. We've witnessed our military forces stretched dangerously thin and their readiness decline to levels not seen since Vietnam. We've seen the CIA shut down their Bin Laden unit. We have seen American diplomacy wane. And, as evident by the latest Republican scandal on Capitol Hill, we've seen Republican leaders in Washington show more interest in protecting their own party's political ambitions than ensuring the safety of our children.
We do not make America more secure by sticking our heads in the sand. Neglect will never make us safer, nor does disengagement and denial make our enemies less dangerous.
President Kennedy said, "Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate."
One of the fundamental responsibilities of our government is to ensure the safety and security of all Americans, and we need leadership in Washington that is committed to this responsibility in every sense. This means recognizing that homeland security begins with hometown security. This means restoring the Bush Administration funding cuts that put more cops on our streets. This means making real investments to secure our borders and ports, and our chemical and nuclear plants.
America needs policies that are both tough and smart. This Administration and the "Do Nothing" Republican Congress have stood on the sidelines for too long as the situation has in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and North Korea has grown more dangerous. The American people and the world are craving a new direction and new leaders that will live up to these responsibilities.
I have no allusions that the path ahead will be easy. Whether it is bringing our troops home from Iraq, ending nuclear proliferation, or restoring American prestige, there are no easy answers. But I fought for an America who never shies from the challenges it faces and always rises to meet even its greatest threats.
We need leaders who understand that America faces real challenges in an ever more dangerous world. In my time in the United States Army, I was taught that true leaders tackle the toughest challenges head on. And when I am elected to the United States Congress, I will continue to do the same. I'm Patrick Murphy and I'm running for Congress because I believe we need to change the direction of our country.
Thank you for listening, and may God bless America.
