Kucinich: Obama Iraq Troop Reduction Is Good, But Not Enough

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) was on MSNBC’s Hardball tonight where he called President Obama’s plan to reduce the number of troops in Iraq, “a good start.” He also said that 50,000 troops in Iraq are still too many.

Here is the video:

Kucinich was on the show to talk about the Obama administration’s reversal of the policy that prohibited photos of the coffins of dead soldiers coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Kucinich did bring up a great point on the policy change. He said, “Well it’s the families made the sacrifice too, and they should be in a position of making the decision…There is a larger question here which is, it’s too bad that we’re still there and bodies keep coming back. I think that we owe it to the families to be able to decide whether or not they feel it’s appropriate to let the nation know that they lost a loved one first of all, and I think it would also be good for the media to put the pictures out of the soldier with the families when they were alive.”

As far as troop draw down in Iraq is concerned, Kucinich said, “I think he is going in the right direction if that is going to be announced, and I would that eventually we would end the occupation and bring the troops home.” Chris Matthews asked him if he accepted the troop reduction, “I don’t think that’s enough. I think you can not leave 50,000 troops there and call it a withdrawal, but it is a step in the right direction, and I think that ought to be supported.”

As usual, Rep. Kucinich is right on the money. I think the proper number of troops to be left in Iraq is zero, especially if the administration is going to send more troops to Afghanistan. Unlike some on the left, I see a difference between the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The biggest difference is that there really are 9/11 terrorists in Afghanistan. The international community has a chance to maybe build a stable Afghanistan, and make sure that it is never a home base for terrorists again. Like Kucinich, I view the Iraq announcement as a positive development, but the long term goal should be to have no troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association