WHY DEMS ARE RIGHT

The following is a speech delivered at the YearlyKos convention last weekend. This guy really knows what he's talking about, as well he should, having worked at the DoD as an intel officer:

Good morning. My name is Alex Rossmiller, and I am a former Intelligence Officer for the Department of Defense I left government service because I became convinced that the policies of this administration, and in fact the very grounding of many conservative foreign policy ideals, harm American security and impair American interests.

So far this morning you've heard about what U.S. foreign policy is, and what it is not. You've also heard how Democrats can work to expose the unsuccessful administration efforts, both in strategy and tactics. I would like to briefly articulate the Democratic alternative that is both practical and popular.

The central foreign policy issue for Americans in at least the next two elections is clearly the war in Iraq I spent over six months in Iraq last year, and many more months working the issue at the Pentagon , and it is beyond my comprehension how a reasonable observer could believe anything but the fact that the Iraq war has made the U.S. less safe. It has overstretched our forces, created a lawless area for terrorists to learn their deadly craft, established a constant source of recruiting for militant Islamists across the globe, and destabilized a region on which we depend for economic well-being. Stay the course is a ridiculous notion when the course is wrong. All real Democrats can embrace a single message on Iraq: Change the course. Change the course.

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Please, read the whole thing

JC