Michael Baumgartner on War & Peace

Leave Afghanistan now & use funds domestically

Cantwell countered that she supports Pres. Obama's plans to withdraw troops in 2014, and she said Pres. Bush deserved blame for not fully funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We're wasting resources on democracy-building in Afghanistan

Foreign policy isn't typically the building block of a statewide campaign. Baumgartner acknowledged that most voters care more about domestic issues, especially the economy. That hasn't deterred him. "In my view, people don't care enough about the war," he said. "My interest in foreign policy is above the average voter's interest. That doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it."

[In his campaign], he draws on the lessons of the war zone. "When we were in Iraq & Afghanistan, you didn't sit around thinking about all the things you couldn't do," Baumgartner said. "You thought about the things you could get done."

It is time to end the wars

Military spending is too high and going to war is too easy

We have an overstretched military we're spending too much money on. Afghanistan is costing $12 billion a month.
• America should focus on its interests and put democracy-building "on the shelf." Moderate Islam will have to defeat radical Islam.
• Congress should have greater control over the decision to go to war.
• Military forces should not be committed without realistic plans, and an exit strategy, devised by people who know the country.