Yesterday Jon Powers posted the following on Huffington Post, Rochester Turning, Daily Kos and TAP.

JON POWERS COMMENTS ON THE WAR IN IRAQ FOUR YEARS AFTER RETURNING HOME

“Washington’s failure to provide us the proper planning, equipment or even strategy was evident”

WILLIAMSVILLE, NY - Jon Powers, Iraq War Veteran and the endorsed Democratic candidate in New York’s 26th congressional district, issued the following statement 4 years after returning from Iraq:

“Over the course of our 15 month combat tour in Baghdad and Najaf, our soldiers witnessed a transition from eating dinner in the homes of the Iraqi people in the summer of 2003 to battling every day farmers who joined Muqtada Al Sadr’s uprising during the spring of 2004.

“Our soldiers represented a beacon of hope to many Iraqi people as they were excited that we were bringing them the American dream. Unfortunately, Washington’s failure to provide us the proper planning, equipment, or even strategy was evident when we were unable to provide even the basic services or support that any human would expect and deserves. As our relationship with the Iraqi people began to unravel, so did the war.

“Four years later America remains at war, our economy is breaking, and working families are struggling with rising food and gas prices. This election will be about bringing a responsible end to this war, implementing a policy to secure our energy independence, and reinvesting in America by putting our working families back to work.”