DaytonDailyNews.com

site web

It's little wonder that Congressman Mike Turner still supports George Bush's failed Iraq policies ("Iraq war just the latest excuse for terrorists," Sept. 29).

As one of the president's most dependable rubber stamps in Congress, my Republican opponent occupies a prime place in George W. Bush's bubble of delusion by stubbornly refusing to acknowledge that the Iraq war has increased terrorism around the world.

Should we believe Bush and Turner, who say we are winning the war on terror despite being mired in the civil war in Iraq? Or do we believe our own nonpartisan expert reports, including the National Intelligence Estimate, which says the Iraq war has made the United States a bigger terrorist target?

According to this report, "The Iraq conflict has become the cause celebre for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement."

Mike Turner shamelessly tries to use this worrying document to his and his party's advantage, reflecting an irresponsible mindset that jeopardizes our national security. In his recent Q&A on the Dayton Daily News Opinions page, Turner selectively quotes the report about damaging al-Qaida's leadership.

But the very next paragraph after the text he referenced says: "We also assess that the global jihadist movement — which includes al-Qaida, affiliated and independent terrorist groups and emerging networks and cells — is spreading and adapting to counterterrorism efforts."

We need to adapt right back and beat them — not encourage them by plodding along the same directionless path in Iraq.

We need new leadership in Washington with the courage to tell the truth, change course and focus on defeating the global jihadist movement, not just spout shopworn slogans while continuing to foster a climate of fear.

As a veteran U.S. Navy officer who advised the Naval Intelligence Command, and as a commander in the Naval Reserve who holds our country's highest security clearance and has trained foreign nations on counterterrorism with the Defense Institute for International Legal Studies, I believe that we must recommit to winning the war on terror. That means strengthening our military and fully funding our homeland security needs. We must:

• Disengage honorably from the Iraqi civil war without a predetermined timeline.

• Implement the 9/11 Commission's recommendations to secure our homeland.

• Stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons, especially those from the former Soviet empire, North Korea and Iran.

• Keep our promises to our brave vets and their families.

• Pursue terrorists wherever they operate.

Mike Turner and the Republican Congress have neglected to protect our true national-security interests.

To win the war against global jihadism, we must continue to pursue our own democratic values at home and abroad. We must face reality and work in a bipartisan way to protect our national security. We must again become a "beacon on the hill" for democracy around the world.

My top priority is to protect our homeland, our values and our citizens. Sadly, the policies of George W. Bush, Mike Turner and the Republican Congress have put us at greater risk. As a nation, we can no longer tolerate that.

Richard Chema, a Democrat and formerly head of the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio, is running for Congress in the 3rd District.