How to extract troops at issue
First in a series on the issues facing 6th Congressional District Democratic candidates Jill Morgenthaler and Stan Jagla in the Feb. 5 primary.
American soldiers need to come home from Iraq, Democrats Jill Morgenthaler and Stan Jagla both agree. But the two candidates for the 6th Congressional District differ on how to fix what's broken in the troubled region.
Morgenthaler, 53, has first-hand experience of the conflict after serving in Iraq as a colonel in the Army Reserve. She also until recently was the Illinois deputy chief of staff for public safety and homeland security adviser.
Early on, the Des Plaines resident said she had reservations about the mission, because of evidence there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
"It was difficult to explain to my children why I was going to a war I did not believe in," Morgenthaler said.
Perhaps more difficult was acting as a spokeswoman for the military as casualties mounted and during events such as the Abu Ghraib prisoner torture scandal.
Morgenthaler said she took the assignment because it was her duty as a soldier and she stuck to the facts. She passed her concerns about the war on to her superior officers, she said.
"I am very proud of my 30 years in uniform," said Morgenthaler, who also highly praised troops in Iraq.
Jagla, a 45-year-old Roselle businessman, wants a congressional investigation into "war profiteering" and what he considers the influence of corporations and the oil industry on the war's origins.
"We had to go into Afghanistan because it was taken over by a terrorist organization. We did not have a choice," he said. "The government misled us about Iraq."
How to extract troops from the country has the two contesting the seat now held by Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, a Wheaton attorney, on different tracks.
Jagla wants deadlines for withdrawal set.
"We should put our cards on the table and say to the Iraqi government -- like it or not -- we'll be gone in six months, or whatever. We need to set a timetable and benchmarks and provide funding for our troops to train the Iraqis and show we're realistic about moving out," he said.
Instead of a timetable, Iraqis should meet benchmarks that include safe streets and working utilities before a pullout, Morgenthaler recommends.
"Public safety is the first issue," she said.
To prevent chaos breaking out after troops leave, Jagla advocates United Nations peacekeepers.
Despite United Nations leaders' criticisms of the invasion, "I think the U.N. would go along with that. They would bring stability to the region," Jagla said.
Rather than the U.N., Morgenthaler contends that a military presence of about 25,000 U.S. troops will be required after the bulk of forces leave in the region.
Both candidates concede civil war is brewing in Iraq now.
Jagla thinks the departure of America will help glue the country back together.
"The unrest continues because we are there," he said.
Morgenthaler believes it will take help from neighboring countries such as Jordan and Kuwait to reach peace.
"We need to re-engage our allies," she said.
Another hot issue in the region is Iran, its nuclear program and controversial President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Morgenthaler called herself relieved by a 2007 National Intelligence Estimate from a coalition of federal security agencies saying Iran suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003.
Still, "we have to watch Iran's leadership very carefully," she said.
Jagla said threats to invade the country and President Bush's calling Iran part of an "axis of evil" fueled anti-American sentiment and aided Ahmadinejad.
"His power is growing because of our misconduct," he said.
Both candidates agreed it was important to work with other countries to engage diplomatically with Iran and that sanctions were appropriate at the current time.