Reed Comments on President Obama's Iraq Speech

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 Statement from Tom Reed in reaction to President Obama’s speech tonight:

“As I have been saying over the past week, with the end of the combat mission in Iraq, we owe our brave

men and women a debt of gratitude for their service. While US troops will remain in Iraq for quite some

time moving forward, it is clear that we have reached a milestone with the removal of the last combat

troops.

I applaud President Obama for the commitment he showed to our returning veterans and I agree with the

accolades he directed to our service members in his speech owe tonight. This day would not have been

possible without the sacrifices made by the members and families of our military. We should never forget

what they have done for us in the name of freedom and protecting our nation.

As the nature of our mission in Iraq changes, I urge President Obama to stand firm in the War on Terror in

Iraq and Afghanistan. Every day of young democracy in Iraq is a long-term blow to Al-Qaeda and Islamic

extremists. And every day that the Taliban is held in check in Afghanistan is a safer day here at home.

I hope that President Obama will reconsider his inflexible timetables for complete withdrawal from both

Iraq and Afghanistan. We need to stand strong until the commanders there tell us that those nations can

defend themselves from Islamic extremists and that the threat to the United States from Al-Qaeda has

been destroyed.

What a tragedy it would be if the sacrifices made by so many were made in vain and we someday faced a

future of fighting terrorists here in our homeland instead of abroad. We must stand firm in Afghanistan

and everywhere we face those who seek to destroy the United States.”

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