The U.S. cannot impose freedom, security, and unity in Iraq by force.

Nor should the U.S. military be forced to remain in Iraq essentially as an army for one side of a civil war.

The U.S. must renounce any U.S. interest in constructing permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.

The training and equipping of Iraqi security forces should be accelerated.

Of the 55 refineries closed in America in the last 10 years, they were all closed for economic reasons, mostly oil company mergers. Not a single one was closed for environmental purposes or objections.

Similarly, establishing a firm timeline for bringing our troops home could accelerate the development of Iraqi security forces and deepen their commitment to defending their own country and their own government.

There is a lot of lip service paid in this Congress and downtown at the White House about family values and small business. Who better represents family values and small business than the fishermen and women on the Oregon and California coast.