From an Iraq vet:

"Exactly four years ago today, I returned home from Iraq.Ê Nineteen of my fellow paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne werenÕt as lucky. ÊI witnessed George BushÕs failed strategy firsthand and was determined to do something about it and start bringing our troops home.Ê Now, as the first and only Iraq war veteran in Congress, I take seriously myÊresponsibility to call for a new foreign policy, and to making sure our nation fulfills its promise to my fellow veterans.
We need a President who has the vision, the judgment, and the courage to make this change become a reality. Barack Obama will be that President.
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From the beginning, Barack had the foresight to speak out against the war and the Bush Administration's terrible mismanagement of it.
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Barack Obama will put an end to BushÕs policy blunders and bring our troops home safely and responsibly. Barack and I introduced the Iraq De-escalation Act.Ê (You can view details of our plan at my website, www.murphy08.com.)Ê
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Our bill calls for clear benchmarks, a clear timeline for redeployment and a strategic strike force to combat al Qaeda.Ê Most importantly, this redeployment from Iraq will give our military the personnel and equipment it needs to redouble its efforts at destroying al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.Ê We need Senator Obama's comprehensive approach to foreign policy and we need to make sure that we are fighting on the right battlefields.Ê Ê
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Barack Obama will bring a new approach to foreign policy, one that understands the world as it really is.Ê He will restore our reputation around the globe and end the Bush vision of foreign policy as a political weapon. And when a Republican candidate tells us that weÕll be in Iraq for 100 years, we know that a change in foreign policy canÕt wait one more day.
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Barack is also committed to getting our veterans proper treatment. He is the grandson of a World War II veteran and serves on the SenateÕs VeteranÕs Affairs Committee, which just passed the largest increase in veteransÕ benefits in the 77 year history of the Veterans Administration.Ê As President, he pledged to have a "zero tolerance" policy for homelessness among our veterans. On any given night, there are 200,000 veterans living on the streets in this country.Ê As President, Barack will end this injustice.
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But to truly change our nation's direction, we need more than just new policies. We need you.Ê A few weeks ago, I was up in New Hampshire door-knocking and talked with a 20-year old woman named Julie.Ê She and her brother were supporting Senator Obama.Ê She said, "My brother is a Marine who just left for his fourth deployment in Iraq.Ê We feel that if Obama is our next Commander-in-Chief, he wonÕt have to go back for a fifth deployment."
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That is what this election is about.Ê I know Senator Obama has a rare ability to lead that doesn't come along very often. We need a fundamental change both at home and abroad, and I believe Barack Obama will bring about that change if we give him a chance.
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Thank you,
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Patrick Murphy
U.S. Representative, (D) PA-08"