(Washington, D.C.) “I resigned from public office in 2005 and volunteered to return to the Marine Corps for an assignment in Iraq not because I believed that invading the country was the right thing to do but because I strongly felt that once the decision had been made that we had an obligation to bring the war to a just conclusion.

I'm very proud of my service in Iraq and I can't say enough about the courage, the determination, and the extraordinary sacrifices of all of the young men and women I met during my tour of duty over there. 

I now serve as a member of the House Armed Services Committee and I'm committed to making sure that our country never goes down this path again.  We can achieve our security objectives by supporting factions within a given region that share our goals as opposed to nation building operations where we invade, pacify, and administer whole countries."

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Published on March 19, 2013