| Thank you for allowing me to take part in the launch of VetVoice! It is an honor to speak to our armed forces and our veterans. I am actually a veteran myself, having served as a U.S. Air Force Flight Surgeon during the Vietnam-era.
The most important action I will take as president to support the troops is to end our interventionist foreign policy. Our troops are spread all over the world, meaning we may have difficulty defending ourselves from future threats. We cannot be the policeman of the world. It endangers our national security, isolates us from nations that would otherwise be friendly, and hurts those who provide our security.
The situation in Iraq reminds us that we are to go to war only after a congressional declaration of war, as required by the Constitution. I opposed the Iraq War before it started, and I am gravely concerned about the current buildup to war with Iran. My administration will pursue a coherent foreign policy.
Such a foreign policy is based on understanding that America is best served by not interfering in the internal affairs of other nations. We should rid ourselves of the notion that we are at the mercy of the oil-producing countries- their wealth depends on our business. We should also end our disastrous foreign aid payments and stop propping up dictators and putting band-aids on festering problems.
I will work to capture Osama bin Laden and all of his remaining 9/11 co-conspirators.
Today's soldiers should never be sent to war without clear objectives that serve definite American national security interests. All Americans will benefit from a coherent foreign policy of non-interventionism, free trade, and self-determination.
Any nation willing to ask its men and women to risk their lives serving overseas must also be willing to take care of them when they come home. We cannot provide dignified care with a Veterans Administration that is run like the DMV.
As president, I will support reforming the Veterans Administration into an organization that efficiently tends to the well-being of millions of former service members, who rely squarely on it for health care, retirement living, and monthly payment of veteran's benefits.
My administration will also support:
giving employers a tax credit for hiring veterans
narrowing the pay gap that exists between military and private sector pay scales
restoring health care coverage to retired service members
allowing veterans to receive both disability and retirement pay
establishing a House Select Committee on POW and MIA Affairs
immediately ending the requirement that disabled veterans give up their military retirement pay in order to receive VA disability benefits
As a congressman, I have helped obtain medals for hundreds of veterans that should have had them years ago, and I have attempted to expedite cases for thousands of veterans with issues such as health care troubles and pension problems. As president, I will continue to honor those who served.
My campaign has raised more money from veterans and active duty serviceman than any other presidential candidate, and I will honor their trust. |
