Troops in Iraq sign petition for withdrawal of all American military forces

Soldiers sign online lobby for withdrawal

The Guardian

It is a common enough sentiment in a politically charged electoral season: bring the troops home. But this time the demand is coming not from politicians and activists safe at home, but from troops on active service.

An online petition aims to collect the signatures of American troops in Iraq opposed to the war and pass their grievance to members of Congress in January.

The petition asks service members to sign the statement: "As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq. Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for US troops to come home."

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With the midterm elections two weeks away one of the petition's organisers, Sgt Liam Madden, decided to go public. "The more informed I got, the more I opposed the war," he told the San Jose Mercury News. "The more people who died there, the longer we stayed there, the more I opposed the war. The more I know, the easier it is to support withdrawal."

The petition cites three criteria for demanding a withdrawal of troops from Iraq: the failure to provide troops with adequate preparation and protection; the human cost in lives to Americans and Iraqis; and the economic cost of the war.