State of Hawaii secondary Archives: on War & Peace

Daniel Akaka: Call for troops withdrawal from Iraq by July 2007

CASE: First, a government in Iraq that can govern, and a police & a military that can provide security. The government is in place. The police and military, according to the leaders of Iraq, are within 6 to 9 months of being in place. At that point, it would seem to me that our way forward to disengage was there. But we cannot withdraw unilaterally, unconditionally, & on a firm timetable, and expect that there are not going to be negative consequences.

AKAKA: In Oct. 2002, I was one of 23 Senators who opposed the authorization of force in Iraq. Because I felt that Bush’s proposal did not have correct information. I was on a committee that was studying it for two years, and we did not find any Weapons of Mass Destruction there. I was looking for a post-war strategy. It wasn’t there. Now I’m calling for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq by July 2007. We must put pressure on the Iraqi government to take responsibility for its own security.

Daniel Akaka: No need to resort to a draft; better recruitment instead

AKAKA: [We need] a recruitment program that would interest our young people. We do have a recruitment program that has been able to meet the needs of our troops. We also need to have a program to attract these young people to the military and to retain them. I’ve been working on a program to recruit, retain, and also to have a retirement program for the military that might interest young people in looking at their lives and the lives of their family. So with all of this, I feel that we’ll be able to attract the young people we need without resorting to a draft.

CASE: In some of the Armed Services the recruiting is okay, in some it is more of a problem, and that is the reality of what we face. Let me be real clear, we don’t need a draft today. I don’t support a draft today. We don’t have to enter into a discussion of the draft. But we do have to confront the reality of an all-volunteer military, which has been incredibly stretched by our engagements oversees.

Ed Case: Oppose a timetable of troops withdrawal from Iraq

CASE: First, a government in Iraq that can govern, and a police & a military that can provide security. The government is in place. The police and military, according to the leaders of Iraq, are within 6 to 9 months of being in place. At that point, it would seem to me that our way forward to disengage was there. But we cannot withdraw unilaterally, unconditionally, & on a firm timetable, and expect that there are not going to be negative consequences.

AKAKA: In Oct. 2002, I was one of 23 Senators who opposed the authorization of force in Iraq. Because I felt that Bush's proposal did not have correct information. I was on a committee that was studying it for two years, and we did not find any Weapons of Mass Destruction there. I was looking for a post-war strategy. It wasn't there. Now I'm calling for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq by July 2007. We must put pressure on the Iraqi government to take responsibility for its own security.

Ed Case: Do not need a draft but the military has been stretched

AKAKA: [We need] a recruitment program that would interest our young people. We do have a recruitment program that has been able to meet the needs of our troops. We also need to have a program to attract these young people to the military and to retain them. I've been working on a program to recruit, retain, and also to have a retirement program for the military that might interest young people in looking at their lives and the lives of their family. So with all of this, I feel that we'll be able to attract the young people we need without resorting to a draft.

CASE: In some of the Armed Services the recruiting is okay, in some it is more of a problem, and that is the reality of what we face. Let me be real clear, we don't need a draft today. I don't support a draft today. We don't have to enter into a discussion of the draft. But we do have to confront the reality of an all-volunteer military, which has been incredibly stretched by our engagements oversees.