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OUT OF IRAQ

    This page looks at getting out of Iraq: why we should get out, how to get out, who supports withdrawal, what you can do to help get the US out of Iraq, and how to prevent war. See also: The Costs of War on this website.

Why Get Out

  • NEW   Rapid Withdrawal Is Only Solution
    William E. Odom, LT General, USA, Ret. gives testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said, "The surge is prolonging instability, not creating the conditions for unity as the president claims." – Information Clearing House, April 2, 2008

  • Prime Minister Maliki Shows Us the Door
    I admit that I come to this cut-and-run strategy belatedly, being more in the We-Broke-It-We-Fix-It school of thought. But it's now clear even to dreamers like me that we are a huge part of the problem and not the solution. –CommonDreams.org, June 3, 2006

  • The Logic of Withdrawal
    We need to answer concerns of thoughtful, well-meaning people who have been persuaded by one or more of the arguments for why U.S. troops should remain in Iraq, at least until "stability" is restored. Eight reasons why the U.S. should leave Iraq immediately, addressing common arguments for "staying the course." – In These Times, March 18, 2006

  • The Iraq Quagmire: The Mounting Costs of War and the Case for Bringing Home the Troops
    The most comprehensive accounting of the mounting costs and consequences of the Iraq War on the United States, Iraq, and the world. Among its major findings are stark figures that quantify the continuing of costs since the Iraqi elections, a period that the Bush administration claimed would be characterized by a reduction in the human and economic costs. – Institute for Policy Studies, August 31, 2005

  • If America Left Iraq The case for cutting and running
    All the arguments for why we should stay, and why they are wrong: a civil war? stop the Sunnis? embolden the insurgency? foreign jihadi? the Kurds seceding? Turkey invading? Iran takes over Iraq? secular democracy? repair Iraq? – The Atlantic, December 2005

  • Ten Reasons Why the U.S. Must Leave Iraq
    The American Friends Service Committee gives the moral and practical reasons we should not be in Iraq, and why we should leave now. Also available as a printable flyer in English and Spanish versions. – AFCS Wage Peace Campaign

  • The Cost of War in Iraq
    Below is a running total of the U.S. taxpayer cost of the Iraq War. The number is based on Congressional appropriations. See the cost in your community, or compare the cost of war to the cost of addressing education, health, world hunger, the AIDS epidemic, or world immunizations.
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         – The National Priorities Project

  • What's the Story Behind 30,000 Iraqi Deaths?
    President Bush offered his own estimate of "Iraqi citizens" killed since the invasion: "30,000, more or less." Other estimates are as high as 100,000. Certainly, the number matters. First, it can help keep us honest about the costs of the wars we wage. – The Washington Post, December 18, 2005

  • American Military Casualties in Iraq
    See how many American troops have been killed or wounded in Iraq to date. Also includes US Military Deaths in Afghanistan, and links to other sites keeping other counts. – Antiwar.com

  • The Costs of War at Walter Reed
    I see in the halls of Walter Reed hospital soldiers with leg braces and neck supports, soldiers with faces slashed by bombs and stitched up by doctors. Soldiers with legs terribly mangled, soldiers with no legs… – Intervention Magazine, Oct 22, 2005, at Veterans for Common Sense


How to Get Out

  • NEW   Easy Out
    Leave the office furniture behind. It isn’t worth one soldier’s life. Most public discussions of the actual mechanics of withdrawal have emphasized how difficult it will be. Of course, military experts have said many things about Iraq over the years—and how often have they proved correct? – The American Conservative, September 24, 2007

  • How to Get Out of Iraq – Juan Cole
    Bush gives two major rationales for rejecting withdrawal. At times he has warned that Iraq could become an Al Qaeda stronghold, at others that "a contagion of violence could spill out across the country--and in time, the entire region could be drawn into the conflict." – The Nation, April 9, 2007

  • Iraq Study Group Report
    This is the full report, 84 pages, written by a bipartisan group comprised of Americans who have distinguished themselves in service to their nation. – US Institute of Peace, December 6, 2006

  • Democrats may unite on plan to pull troops
    After months of trying unsuccessfully to develop a common message on the war in Iraq, Democratic Party leaders are beginning to coalesce around a broad plan to begin a quick withdrawal of US troops and install them elsewhere in the region, where they could respond to emergencies in Iraq and help fight terrorism in other countries. – The Boston Globe, February 20, 2006

  • The Way Out of Iraq: Decentralizing the Iraqi Government
    Opponents of withdrawal argue that after U.S. forces leave, the mayhem and chaos in Iraq will increase and the country will become a haven for terrorists. This dismal outcome does not have to happen if the United States allows genuine Iraqi self-determination, which will probably result in some sort of decentralized government. – The Independent Institute

  • FCNL supports Rep. John Murtha's bill to withdraw from Iraq
    Find links to Rep. Murtha's bill. See if your representative is a cosponsor, and send a message. Learn about FCNL's Sensible Transition for Enduring Peace (STEP) Resolution, and how you can support it. – Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)

  • Iraq Peace Plan
    Real democracy is based on respect for human dignity and self-determination and can only be accomplished by the will of the people, not by brute force. – Friends for a Non-Violent World, St. Paul, MN

  • Peace Action
    Ordinary Americans have the opportunity to provide leadership for the politicians in Washington. The plan calls for the administration to shift from a military to a conflict resolution model and offers five initial policies, which if enacted, will markedly move the U.S. towards peace in Iraq. – Peace Action Education Fund and the Progressive Democrats of America


Who Supports Withdrawal

  • NEW  Cut and Run, the Only Brave Thing to Do
    A letter from Michael Moore gives some historical comparisons, including to what the US accomplished during the same time period in WWII; our own liberation from the British; and the independence successes of South Africa, India, and even Canada. – MichaelMoore.com, November 29, 2006

  • World Public Says Iraq War Has Increased Global Terrorist Threat
    A new global poll finds that in 33 of 35 countries surveyed, the most common view is that the war in Iraq has increased the likelihood of terrorist attacks around the world. On average, 60 percent of the respondents have this perception – Program on International Policy Attitudes, February 27, 2006

  • Wisconsin Towns Vote for Withdrawal – The Nation
    "These thirty-two communities were a representative sample of the state, with twenty-two of the thirty-two located in counties that George Bush won in the 2004 election," explained Steve Burns, Program Coordinator of the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice. "This is yet more evidence of a new antiwar majority in Wisconsin." – Common Dreams, April 6, 2006

  • U.S. Troops in Iraq: 72% Say End War in 2006
    An overwhelming majority of 72% of American troops serving in Iraq think the U.S. should exit the country within the next year, and more than one in four say the troops should leave immediately, a new Le Moyne College/Zogby International survey shows. – Zogby International, February 28, 2006

  • Rep. John P. Murtha's Speech on the War in Iraq
    "The war in Iraq is not going as advertised. It is a flawed policy wrapped in illusion. The American public is way ahead of us. The United States and coalition troops have done all they can in Iraq, but it is time for a change in direction..." – Rep. Murtha's website
    • Hawkish Democrat Joins Call For Pullout
      Analysis of Rep. Murtha's speech. "The top House Democrat on military spending matters stunned colleagues yesterday by calling for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq…" – The Washington Post, November 18, 2005

  • Cronkite: Time for US to Leave Iraq
    When Former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite said the Vietnam war was unwinnable and that the U.S. should exit, then-President Lyndon Johnson reportedly told a White House aide, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America." – truthout.com, January 15, 2006

  • More Say Iraq War Hurts Fight Against Terrorism
    A growing number of Americans believe that the war in Iraq has undermined the U.S. struggle against terrorism. Nearly half (47%) say the war in Iraq has hurt the war on terrorism, the highest percentage expressing that view since the war began in March 2003. – The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, July 21, 2005

  • Withdraw from Iraq by former Sen. George McGovern and Rep. Jim McGovern
    We were early opponents of the US invasion of Iraq. Nonetheless, once American forces were committed, we hoped that our concerns would be proven wrong. That has not been the case. – Boston Globe, June 6, 2005

  • AFL-CIO Calls for Rapid Return of U.S. Troops
    Adoption of this resolution represents the first time in its 50 year history that the federation has taken a position squarely in opposition to a major U.S. foreign policy or military action. – USLaborAgainstWar.org, July 27, 2005


What You Can Do

  • 2006 PEACE FIRST! Campaign
    Vote only for those US Senate candidates who promise to support the Peace Standard: end the war, protect our troops, provide for Iraqi reconstruction and ownership. See the plan from Peace in the Precincts to help YOU to form a voting bloc in your party that, with enough participation, will have enough power to make sure that your party endorses a candidate who will act to end the war in Iraq. Start with the Precinct Caucuses. – Peace in the Precincts

  • Congress Must Insist on a Plan to Get Out of Iraq in 2006
    "Congress must insist that America have an exit strategy from Iraq. We need a timeline that starts now and gets us out of Iraq in 2006." Send a message to Congress. – MoveOn.org

  • Cities for Peace -- Bring the Troops Home
    Cities for Peace will work as a hub of communication among cities taking action on this issue, and help all these cities express their opinion as a bloc of people that they represent, rather than as isolated cities. Use the Toolkit to pass a resolution in your city. – Cities for Progress

  • Support the End of the Iraq War Act
    U.S. Representative Jim McGovern has introduced a resolution (H.R. 4232) that would prohibit use of taxpayer funds to deploy U.S. troops to Iraq. This bill would allow funds to be used for the safe and orderly withdrawal of troops, as well as for non-Defense spending and eventual reconstruction. – American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)


How To Prevent War

  • If War Is Not the Answer, What Is? Policies for a More Secure World
    To effectively address current and future threats to peace and security, the U.S. needs a new security strategy for the peaceful prevention of deadly conflict. Such a strategy would reduce reliance on 11th hour military responses to conflict and invest in the development and early application of peaceful alternatives to war. These alternatives include… – Friends Committee on National Legislation

  • Global Action To Prevent War
    An emerging transnational network of organizations and grassroots activists in 23 countries… We can move from an international system based on conflict and power relations to one based on law and multilateral institutions. – Global Action

  • The Millennium Development Goals
    The eight Millennium Development Goals - which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 - form a blueprint agreed to by all the world's countries and all the world's leading development institutions. – The United Nations
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